Crusaders, Sellswords, and Separatists: The Russian State’s Use of Paramilitaries, Separatists, and Irregular Armies
Journal: Scholars Crossing (Liberty University)
Year: 2019

Russia currently supports various paramilitaries around the world whether in the guise of separatists, mercenaries, or irregular armies. Using their own military and intelligence operatives and different tactical and religious-ideological means of asserting control over these paramilitaries and the territories they inhabit, Russia seeks to expand the scope of its global dominance and regional influence. Consistent with its long-term goal of weakening NATO and the EU, Russian strategy under Putin