Employees of Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) say they have uncovered a pro-Russian network that organizes pro-Russian initiatives and media campaigns in EU countries.
In Europe, a Russian network that tried to influence European Parliament elections has been exposed again. According to the Czech Civilian Counterintelligence Service, the network worked with politicians in Poland, Hungary, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands in an attempt to influence European Parliament elections.
Czech initiative
In a March 27 meeting, the Czech government added Viktor Medvedchuk to the national sanctions list, as well as Ukrainian-born propagandist Artem Marchovsky and the pro-Kremlin right-wing website Voice of Europe.
As Fiala explained, these sanctions are intended to hit a pro-Russian network that is trying to build an influence operation in his country, which “could potentially have a serious impact on the security of the Czech Republic and the European Union.”
Medvedchuk, according to Fiala, operated a number of influence networks from Russia and was personally connected to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“In the Czech Republic, he uses a company called Voice of Europe, which is a legal entity on the sanctions list,” he said, adding that the aforementioned Artem Marchevsky was also involved in this activity.
Fiala noted that the pro-Russian group’s activities extend beyond the Czech Republic and reflect Russia’s long-term efforts to influence democratic processes in Europe.
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo spoke about the “close cooperation” of the Belgian and Czech intelligence services related to the exposure of the Russian propaganda network.
“For example, it became known that Russia approached members of the European Parliament and also paid them to promote Russian propaganda here,” the Belgian prime minister added, without naming the representatives.
De Croo’s representative clarified to Politico that the Belgian Prime Minister’s speech had to do with the Czech government’s decision to impose sanctions on the Voice of Europe website.
European Parliament spokeswoman Delfina Kolar said the agency was “now studying the findings” of the Czech authorities about Voice of Europe.
Bribery of representatives
A member of the Bundestag from the Alternative for Germany and a candidate from this party in the European Parliament elections, Petr Bystron, received money from a pro-Russian influence network exposed by European intelligence services the previous day, according to in an investigation by the German magazine Spiegel and the Czech newspaper Denik N.
According to journalists, the network, centered on the pro-Russian website Voice of Europe, transferred only a few hundred thousand euros to six EU countries, specifically Germany, France, Poland and the Netherlands. Some of the money was transferred in cash during the meetings in Prague, and some was transferred using cryptocurrency.
Among one of the recipients of the funds, Spiegel and Denik N named the MP from the far-right Alternative Petr Bystron. Journalists also noted that the Voice of Europe website published materials with another party representative, European Deputy Maximilian Kra.
In addition, Kra and Bystron have long known the oligarch and godfather of Vladimir Putin, Viktor Medvedchuk – who, according to the Czech intelligence services, is behind the Voice of Europe: in 2021, they visited him together in Kyiv .
When Spiegel asked if he had received money from the Voice of Europe, Bystron was evasive and then said that, “based on the painful experience of previous election campaigns,” he assumed “that it was defamation. “
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.