Putin's Invisible War Against the West
How Putin’s tactics weaponises Britain's legal system against its defenders — and why Parliament must act
Britain is preparing to re-establish a Home Guard, according to a central recommendation in the government's upcoming strategic defence review, to be published in the coming weeks, according to Harry Yorke, Deputy Political Editor, The Sunday Times.
This dramatic shift in defence policy acknowledges a threat that has been building for years.
“While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a stark reminder that the world has changed, Britain’s military chiefs fear that many Britons have still not woken up fully to the pre-war era we have now entered,” writes Yorke.
“And although a direct confrontation between Moscow and Nato remains some way off, a hybrid war against the West is already well under way, with undersea cable sabotage and a spate of cyberattacks on services such as the NHS forming part of Putin’s ‘grey zone’ doctrine.”
The revival of the Home Guard — a force last seen in World War II — might seem like an outdated response to modern threats. But Britain's military planners understand something crucial: this new conflict demands both traditional and novel defences. We face war by other means: subtle, sustained, and strategically designed to keep the West confused, distracted, and off-balance.
What makes this "grey zone" warfare so dangerous to Britain?
In strategic terms, the grey zone is the space between peace and open war. It’s where state actors operate covertly or indirectly to pursue national interests without triggering a formal military response. These tactics:
Create doubt and ambiguity about hostile actions, making UK response difficult
Undermine British public trust in democratic institutions
Exploit the UK's open society and legal system against itself
Target critical infrastructure while maintaining deniability
Britain's vulnerability to grey zone warfare is already clear. Russian naval vessels regularly operate near the undersea cables carrying 98% of UK internet traffic. In 2022 alone, the NHS faced 17 major cyberattacks attributed to Russian-backed groups. Meanwhile, Moscow's intelligence services probe UK infrastructure — from power grids to telecommunications — seeking weaknesses they could exploit in a crisis.
These aren't hypothetical threats. Russia refined these tactics in Ukraine, demonstrating how a modern nation can be undermined without conventional warfare. In Crimea (2014), masked soldiers in unmarked uniforms — Russia's infamous "little green men" — seized control of critical infrastructure while Moscow denied any involvement. The same digital and infrastructure attacks now targeting Britain were tested there first. Meanwhile, Russian media flooded the region with a false narrative of ethnic persecution and emergency. By the time the West grasped what had happened, Russia had annexed Crimea without firing a conventional shot.
The Donbas campaign revealed another aspect of grey zone warfare now threatening Britain: the weaponisation of social division. Russia stoked separatist sentiment through targeted disinformation and covert support - tactics now being deployed against British society through social media manipulation and the amplification of domestic tensions.
These methods have evolved into sophisticated cyberattacks targeting UK infrastructure:
Critical Services: Beyond the NHS attacks, Russian-linked groups have probed Britain's power grid, financial systems, and government networks.
Election Security: UK intelligence services have identified multiple attempts to interfere with British democratic processes, mirroring tactics used in Ukraine.
Infrastructure Vulnerability: The undersea cables carrying Britain's internet traffic are particularly exposed — Russian naval vessels have been detected conducting suspicious operations near these vital communication links.
Economic Disruption: The 2017 NotPetya attack, while targeting Ukraine, caused over £100 million in damage to British businesses, demonstrating how cyber weapons can have global reach.
Beyond cyberspace, Russia deploys mercenaries and proxy militias to threaten British interests globally. The Wagner Group, Putin's private military company, directly challenges UK security partnerships in Africa, where Britain maintains crucial diplomatic and economic ties. In Sudan, Mali, and the Central African Republic, Wagner operatives undermine British influence while securing resources that fund Russia's grey zone operations.
The group's activities extend beyond military operations. Wagner-linked networks spread anti-British propaganda, support cyber operations against UK targets, and help Moscow maintain deniability while disrupting British foreign policy objectives.
Energy warfare presents another critical vulnerability. While Britain produces significant North Sea oil and gas, its energy market remains closely tied to European prices. Russia exploits this connection. When Moscow restricted gas supplies to Europe in 2022, UK energy prices soared by 54%, triggering a cost-of-living crisis that strained British social cohesion — exactly the kind of internal pressure Putin's grey zone strategy aims to create.
Even Britain's legal system has become a battlefield. Recent legal campaigns targeting British veterans, particularly those who served in Northern Ireland, demonstrate how adversaries can exploit democratic institutions to undermine military morale. These cases:
Discourage military recruitment
Drain defence resources
Create divisions between military and civilian society
Provide material for anti-British propaganda
Each of these tactics — from Wagner's operations to energy manipulation and lawfare — forms part of a coordinated strategy to exhaust British resolve without triggering direct military confrontation.
This multi-layered assault on British society explains why military planners are reviving the Home Guard. Modern threats require both traditional and innovative defences:
Physical presence to protect critical infrastructure
Cyber expertise to counter digital attacks
Community resilience against social division
Public awareness of grey zone tactics
Putin's strategy succeeds precisely because it exploits British strengths as weaknesses:
Democratic openness becomes vulnerability to manipulation
Legal fairness becomes a weapon against institutions
Free markets become channels for economic pressure
Social diversity becomes opportunity for division
The revival of the Home Guard signals a crucial recognition: Britain faces a new kind of war. It doesn't start with an invasion or missile strike, but with a cyber attack, a disinformation campaign, or a legal challenge designed to erode military confidence.
This isn't tomorrow's threat — it's today's reality. The question isn't whether Britain will be attacked, but how we defend against attacks already underway.
The battlespace has changed. Britain's defences must evolve to match it — within a clear legal framework established by Parliament and upheld by British courts.
This framework must protect those who protect us: the military personnel, police officers, and intelligence operatives who stand between Britain and its adversaries. Their ability to act decisively in defence of our nation cannot be compromised by legal uncertainty or the weaponisation of our own judicial system.