A document of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is in the possession of Washington Postconfirms that Russia is conducting hybrid warfare against of the West in order to overturn the balances in the geopolitical scene, the newspaper says in its article.

Russia’s foreign ministry is drawing up plans to weaken its Western adversaries, including the United States, while using the war in Ukraine to undermine American dominance in global politics, the Washington Post reports, citing a classified Russian Foreign Ministry document that is in her possession.

According to the same publication, the Russian Foreign Ministry is calling for an “aggressive information campaign” and other measures covering “the military-political, economic, commercial and psychological sphere” against a “coalition of unfriendly countries” led by the United States.

The document, dated April 11, 2023, cited by the Washington Post as having been obtained by a European intelligence agency, reportedly states that “it is important to create a mechanism to find the vulnerabilities of countries’ foreign and domestic policies unfriendly with the aim of developing practical steps to weaken Russia’s adversaries”.

The document for the first time provides official confirmation and codification of a hybrid war by Moscow against the West. Russia seeks to reverse Western support for Ukraine and disrupt the domestic politics of the United States and European countries through propaganda campaigns supporting extremist policies, the same publication said. It is also seeking to reshape the geopolitical scene, through alliances with China, Iran and North Korea in an attempt to change the current balance of power.

At the same time, the same publication notes that the specific document states that the outcome of Russia’s war in Ukraine “will largely determine the contours of the future world order”, a clear indication that the outcome of the war in Ukraine is inextricably linked to the pursuit of Moscow and other authoritarian states to be imposed on a global level.

In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs neither confirms nor denies the existence of the document and notes that “as we have stated many times at different levels, we can confirm that the mood is to resolutely combat the aggressive steps taken by the collective West as part of of the hybrid war launched against Russia”.

Western officials have warned that Russia has been stepping up its propaganda and influence campaigns over the past two years as it seeks to undermine support for Ukraine.