Does the Ukrainian Conflict Represent a New, Privatized Form of Warfare?:
"For weeks, the Ukrainian military has been embroiled in a no-win conflict with
armed pro-Russian separatists.
But on May 15 in the contested city of Mariupol, something very interesting
happened. Thousands of unarmed steelworkers took to the streets against the
separatists.
The separatists, who had just recently been out in the open, disappeared as quickly
as they arrived. Teams of workers from Metinvest—one of Ukraine’s largest mining
and steel holding companies—along with local police began patrolling roads and
dismantling separatist barricades."
"The company plans to expand the operation—known as Volunteer People’s
Patrols—to other troubled cities in eastern Ukraine. If successful, it’ll be an
example of a private company successfully entering an armed conflict and
winning, all without firing a shot.
It’s also a bit worrying. The patrols are employees of a company owned by one of
Ukraine’s wealthiest oligarchs. At the same time, he might also be the person
who can keep the country together and beat back Russia’s new—and more
discreet—way of war."
See:
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/d2863f23ee61