{"id":14002,"date":"2024-03-30T22:28:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-30T22:28:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/30\/czechs-accuse-men-of-russian-influence-operation-in-europe\/"},"modified":"2024-03-30T22:28:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T22:28:06","slug":"czechs-accuse-men-of-russian-influence-operation-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/30\/czechs-accuse-men-of-russian-influence-operation-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Czechs Accuse Men of \u2018Russian Influence Operation\u2019 in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/29\/world\/29eu-influence-1\/29eu-influence-1-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Czechs Accuse Men of \u2018Russian Influence Operation\u2019 in Europe\" title=\"Czechs Accuse Men of \u2018Russian Influence Operation\u2019 in Europe\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Czech Republic has frozen the assets of two men and a news website it accuses of running an influence operation in Europe that supports \u201cthe foreign policy interests of the Russian Federation,\u201d the country\u2019s Foreign Ministry said <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/mzv.gov.cz\/jnp\/en\/issues_and_press\/press_releases\/the_czech_government_approves_listings.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The ministry identified the men as Viktor Medvedchuk, a high-profile, pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and the leader of the effort, and Artem Marchevskyi, a Ukrainian-Israeli citizen who allegedly ran the website, the Czech-registered <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/voiceofeurope.com\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Voice of Europe<\/a>. Long known as an ally of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, Mr. Medvedchuk was arrested in Ukraine and handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange in 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe cracked down on a Russian influence operation that was directed by Viktor Medvedchuk directly from Russia,\u201d Jan Lipavsky, the Czech foreign minister, said in a statement. \u201cThe aim was to spread pro-Russian narratives undermining Ukraine\u2019s sovereignty while infiltrating the European Parliament.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the Czech authorities refused to provide immediate comment on how expansive the effort was or how richly financed, officials promised further revelations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cActions in other countries will follow,\u201d the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/P_Fiala\/status\/1773407893678661891\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said on social media<\/a>, adding that the recent actions were \u201cthe result of international cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Citing unnamed intelligence sources, the Czech news media reported that politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary had been paid by the Voice of Europe to promote Russian interests in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Belgian prime minister, Alexander De Croo, lent substance to those reports, saying in the Belgian Parliament on Thursday that \u201cclose collaboration\u201d between the Belgian and Czech intelligence services had found that \u201cRussia has approached\u201d and \u201cpaid\u201d lawmakers in the European Parliament to \u201cpromote Russian propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">According to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.spiegel.de\/politik\/deutschland\/afd-spendenaffaere-neue-enthuellungen-ueber-geldfluesse-aus-russland-a-0633977a-c07f-484b-b6f7-b826b52ed8ad?sara_ref=re-so-app-sh\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Der Spiegel<\/a>, the prominent German news outlet, one of the politicians who received financial compensation was Petr Bystron, a German lawmaker from the far-right Alternative for Germany party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The revelations come as the European Union is bracing for more foreign interference before European Parliament elections less than three months from now. Since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, the bloc has been a firm supporter of Kyiv, sending aid worth billions of dollars to help the country sustain itself and fend off Russian attacks and making the Parliament a ripe target for the Kremlin, analysts say.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis is not very surprising and confirms what we have suspected: The Kremlin is using dodgy outlets pretending to be media, it is using money to buy covert influence in an attempt to swing public opinion in the E.U. and meddle in elections,\u201d said Vera Jourova, the bloc\u2019s commissioner for values. Ms. Jourova, a Czech citizen, has been calling for the bloc to take a more active stance against Russia\u2019s interference. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to be one step behind Putin and his propaganda army on the chess board,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Neither Mr. Medvedchuk nor Mr. Marchevskyi could immediately be reached for comment. Voice of Europe, whose website has been taken down since the Czech sanctions, did not respond to a message sent through the social media site X.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The European Parliament is one of the three key institutions of the European Union, although it is widely considered the least powerful. Its 705 members, elected in their home countries and serving five-year terms, do not initiate legislation, but their approval is usually required to pass it. They can also censure the European Commission, the European Union\u2019s executive arm, and play an often high-profile role in scrutinizing the bloc\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Despite their limited institutional power, European lawmakers are often approached by lobbyists from nations, industries and interest groups seeking to influence public opinion and to gain allies in important policy debates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In its account <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/V_of_Europe\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">on X<\/a>, Voice of Europe, which last posted on March 27, described itself as a source of \u201cuncensored network news from Europe and the world.\u201d However, a review of the X account turned up a potpourri of right-wing conspiracy theories, like purported statistics on sexual crimes committed by migrants, the harm done by Covid-19 lockdowns and \u201cglobalist censorship\u201d imposed by the European Union.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Voice of Europe\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@Voice-of-Europe\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube page<\/a> features interviews with prominent European politicians from far-right parties in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. Sample headlines have included: \u201cChina \u2014 not Russia \u2014 is the primary threat to the West,\u201d \u201cGermany is constantly pressured into escalating the war in Ukraine,\u201d \u201cPeace negotiations should also respect Russian interests\u201d and \u201cNations states should be monocultural.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In a related case, Polish security officials said in a statement on Thursday that they had raided several locations and seized about $88,000 in cash, as well as hard drives and phones, as part of an investigation into \u201cespionage activities for the Russian Federation directed against states and bodies of the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The raids were an outgrowth of an earlier investigation into a Polish citizen accused of spying for Russia who has been active in the European Parliament, the Polish authorities said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The man, identified by Polish officials as Janusz Niedzwiecki, was accused this year of \u201cperforming tasks commissioned and financed by Russian intelligence collaborators.\u201d Those included, according to the Internal Security Agency, \u201cpropaganda, disinformation activities and political provocations,\u201d with the goal of \u201cbuilding Russian spheres of influence in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Niedzwiecki operated from 2016 until his arrest in 2021 in Poland and other E.U. countries as well as in Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova, the intelligence services said in a statement issued after the earlier investigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">According to internal records reviewed by The New York Times, Mr. Niedzwiecki secured a badge giving him access to the European Parliament through Maximilian Krah, a German far-right lawmaker in the European Parliament who has been featured on the Voice of Europe\u2019s YouTube page. Under the Parliament\u2019s rules, lawmakers can request up to four such badges for people like family members, drivers, experts, advisers and private tutors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Niedzwiecki made good use of the privilege: Internal parliamentary records show that he visited the Parliament at least 50 times from 2017 until his arrest in May 2021.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Asked about Mr. Krah\u2019s connections to Mr. Niedzwiecki, Mr. Krah\u2019s office said: \u201cThere was no indication in 2019 that the aforementioned person might be connected to any such activities. The badge was issued to Mr. Niedzwiecki upon recommendation from friends within the party.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Krah has a history of making pro-Russian statements and voting against parliamentary resolutions condemning Russia. He was among the lawmakers who declined to declare Russia a \u201cstate sponsor of terrorism\u201d over the war in Ukraine in November 2022.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Following the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Krah <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KrahMax\/status\/1510715228291543046\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">wrote on social media,<\/a> \u201cThe sleepwalkers in Berlin and Brussels are leading us into a foreign war \u2014 without rhyme, reason or purpose!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">At a parliamentary debate on the situation at the Russian-Ukrainian border in December 2021, Mr. Krah <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/doceo\/document\/CRE-9-2021-12-14-INT-2-176-0000_DE.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">said<\/a>: \u201cWhoever accepts Ukraine into NATO is provoking, whether we like it or not \u2014 I don\u2019t like it either \u2014 the Russian attack. And now ask yourself whether you are prepared to accept war for Ukraine\u2019s NATO membership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last year, Mr. Krah, 47, created outrage in Berlin over German news media reports that he had received payments from China through one of his parliamentary assistants. The politician has sent messages praising the founding of the Communist People\u2019s Republic of China and has also been openly critical of reports on the internment and exploitation of Uighurs, which he has called \u201c<a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KrahMax\/status\/1447836315039510529\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">anti-China\u201d propaganda.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In Germany, Mr. Krah is seen as a close ally of one of the most extreme AfD leaders, Bj\u00f6rn H\u00f6cke, who is under surveillance by domestic intelligence services and is facing trial next month for using Nazi slogans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A spokesman for the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, said that Ms. Metsola was \u201caware of the allegations being made\u201d and \u201clooking into specific allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While the extent of the apparent Russian influence operation remains unknown, its exposure represents an important \u201cblow against the Russian propaganda apparatus,\u201d Nancy Faeser, Germany\u2019s interior minister, told Der Spiegel. The network, she said, \u201cexerts illegitimate influence on the European Parliament on behalf of Russia\u201d and \u201cuses politicians from several European countries and provides considerable financial resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">She added that the revelations showed \u201cthe massive extent of the lies and disinformation\u201d that the Kremlin employed to \u201cshake trust in our democracy, stir up anger and manipulate public opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Erika Solomon<!-- --> contributed reporting from Berlin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Czech Republic has frozen the assets of two men and a news website it accuses of running an influence operation in Europe that supports \u201cthe foreign policy interests of the Russian Federation,\u201d the country\u2019s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry identified the men as Viktor Medvedchuk, a high-profile, pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/29\/world\/29eu-influence-1\/29eu-influence-1-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8380,19584,896,9199,5517,6463,1461],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14004,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14002\/revisions\/14004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}