Resisting Russia: Insights into Ukraine's Civilian-Based Actions During the First Four Months of the War in 2022
Abstract
The ongoing war in Ukraine has highlighted the many ways in which civilians can support a nations effort to defend itself against an external occupying power. Although civilian-based resistance began during the first hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, most analysis to date has focused on Russian-Ukrainian armed military confrontations. Ukrainian civilian-based resistance efforts merit attention because of their potential value in helping Ukraine's strategic aims to ensure victory by regaining territorial integrity and maintaining political sovereignty. The war in Ukraine also offers some insight into potential future trends in civilian actions in a conventional war for territorial integrity. In this report, we examine Ukrainian approaches to civilian-based resistance during the first four months of the Russia-Ukraine War of 2022 using an analytical framework previously developed by RAND Corporation researchers to analyze civilian-based efforts to support national resistance against a foreign occupying power. Because the war is ongoing and information about many pertinent civilian-based activities in support of the military might not yet be publicly available, we offer a broad characterization of civilian resistance in Ukraine. Therefore, this report is not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of civilian-based resistance in Ukraine. Using this analysis, we identify resistance activities that could be indicative of future trends in civilian based resistance against external aggressors and potential areas of future research and analysis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1208162
Entities
People
- Alyssa Demus
- Marta Kepe
Organizations
- RAND Corporation