In recent years, the term "hybrid warfare"^[1] has become increasingly prevalent in security-related discussions. However, the meaning of this term varies according to the analyst, and therefore, the implications for security also differ according to the intended definition.

Within this context, this article focuses on hybrid warfare as a form of conflict that uses combined military and non-military means to achieve objectives below the threshold that leads to full-scale military war between the armed forces of countries. This article then examines the essential mechanisms of how these battles achieve their objectives.

To this end, the author will first clarify the definition of hybrid warfare for the purpose of this article and then identify the military and non-military hybrid methods employed. Following that, the article will discuss the nature of "fight in the cognitive space" that connects these methods to the achievement of objectives.

In course of the analysis, the article will first elucidate the significance of fight in the cognitive space in the mechanism for achieving objectives in hybrid warfare, and then consider, in turn, the targets of the battles, how fight in the cognitive space is directed, and the mechanisms through which it functions.

Based on these analyses, the article concludes with examination on how fight in the cognitive space is manifested in Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the war in Ukraine for the sake of convenience), and how nations that value human rights, including Japan, should deal effectively with hybrid warfare.

[1] In this article, the terms "hybrid war" and "hybrid warfare" are used interchangeably, without a specific distinction.