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President Donald Trump during a news conference in the White House briefing room on Monday, April 6, 2026. (Getty Images)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on May 9, 2015 (RIA Novosti via Getty Images)
Soon after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, experts began using the term “hybrid warfare” to describe the threat posed by the Kremlin to neighboring countries. But there is now widespread recognition that Vladimir Putin is pursuing broader ambitions to build a network of anti-Western states, destroy NATO, and ultimately marginalize the United States and the West in order to achieve regional hegemony and global power.
In Weaponizing Kleptocracy: Putin’s Hybrid Warfare, Marius Laurinavicius explores the roots of the kleptocratic dimension of Russia’s hybrid warfare, how kleptocracy fits into Putin’s global strategy, and the ways in which it increases the risk of a conventional war between Russia and the West.
On June 14, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion of these issues with Charles Davidson, Executive Director of the Kleptocracy Initiative; Jeffrey Gedmin, Atlantic Council Nonresident Senior Fellow; Marius Laurinavicius, BAFF Security Research Fellow; Hannah Thoburn, Hudson Institute Research Fellow; and Michael Weiss, CNN Investigative Reporter for International Affairs.
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Jared Kushner, left, and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy, during Vice President JD Vance's speech on April 12, 2026, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (Getty Images)
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(Screenshot via CBC)
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US forces patrol the Arabian Sea near M/V Touska on April 20, 2026, after firing upon the Iranian-flagged vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. (Getty Images)