| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines Russia’s use of Reflexive Control, a Soviet-origin technique to control an adversary’s decision-making processes, during the invasion of Ukraine by scrutinizing daily monitoring reports received by Putin’s aide on the policy toward Ukraine, Vladislav Surkov, a possible political-military command. The Kremlin’s moves in political negotiations are closely intertwined with and supported by its military actions. Synchronization between Reflexive Control and combat control becomes more critical and complicated during the combat stage, as the initiator of Reflexive Control simultaneously seeks to maximize its political gains at the ‘peace’ negotiation table, the outcome of which depends not only on the success on the battlefields, but also on the situational awareness of the enemy (in democratic countries, both the leadership and the public) and international third parties.
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