Unpacking Cyber Neutrality

Since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, Western states have repeatedly and adamantly insisted that they would not become directly embroiled in the conflict. According to US President Joseph Biden and other leaders, the direct involvement of Western forces would inevitably result in the next world war. However, this ironclad prohibition of direct action has apparently not included cyber operations. According to the US Cyber Command, the United States has engaged in “the full spectrum” of cyber operations in support of Ukraine. At the same time, the EU has directly deployed one of its newly formed cyber rapid response teams to Ukraine to counter Russian cyber warfare.How does the direct involvement of the US and other states in the cyber conflict fit within international legal rules regarding neutrality and co-belligerency? This article will examine what we currently know about cyber operations in the Russia–Ukraine war and filter that (admittedly limited) knowledge through competing standards of neutrality and co-belligerency. After addressing the potential implications of traditional neutrality, the article will describe how particular qualities of cyber operations pose unique challenges for the continuing viability of the legal standard of where qualified neutrality ends and co-belligerency begins.