Russia’s Command and Control of Cognitive Warfare

Introduction Russia’s threats against the Baltic region demonstrate that its strategy extends beyond conventional military force to a coordinated command-and-control (C2) approach that integrates military, cyber, information, and intelligence capabilities. Through this multi-domain strategy, Moscow seeks to create strategic ambiguity, slow NATO’s decision-making, and test Alliance cohesion without provoking a conventional military response. Understanding how Russia employs its C2 system to synchronize these capabilities is essential to assessing the threat it poses to NATO’s eastern flank. Strengthening NATO’s resilience will therefore require not only implementing the Alliance’s Readiness Plan but also enhancing integrated C2 processes that enable faster decision-making, improved coordination, and more effective responses to Russia’s evolving multi-domain operations. Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery serves as senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ (FDD) Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI). Dr. Ivana Stradner is a Research Fellow at FDD.