let's stop Russian fakes

In 2024, Russia increased imports of Chinese machine tools for the defence industry

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the russian company Almaz-Antey, which manufactures anti-aircraft weapons, and the largest russian manufacturer of tanks and armoured vehicles, Uralvagonzavod, use 37 pieces of foreign equipment.

"In 2024, after the sanctions were tightened, the supply of Western machine tools became more difficult, so russians are increasing their imports of equipment from China. Chinese machines are equipped with German and Japanese numerical control systems - Siemens, Heidenhain, Fanuc. The main reason is that the russians have experience with Western systems, and most part design software is designed for them," Ukrainian intelligence reports.In fact, it can be concluded that China is deliberately supporting russia's ability to wage war and kill civilians in Ukraine.

Austrian intelligence exposes Russian network to discredit Ukraine

russians set up the cell a few months after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and a suspected Bulgarian national played a significant role in planning the disinformation campaign and acted as a contact for kremlin intelligence, according to the Austrian Ministry of the Interior.The group's goal was to influence public opinion in Austria and Germany against 

Ukraine and President Zelenskyy and to foster pro-russian sentiment. 

They were active in the media space, on the Internet, and in offline events such as the distribution of stickers or graffiti with far-right symbols and nationalist statements. They were meant to look like pro-Ukrainian activists were responsible for them.The Austrian State Security and Intelligence Agency learned about the moscow spy operation during a search of the suspect's home in December 2024. We can conclude that russia may have similar networks in any country. And so far, most national governments are not doing enough to effectively combat kremlin agents and russian propaganda.

How India works for the Kremlin's war machine

The international intelligence community InformNapalm, in cooperation with the Ukrainian hacker group 256 Cyber Storm, investigated, exposed the scheme and disrupted the supply of critical sanctioned equipment to the russian military-industrial complex. It turned out that the sanctions circumvention scheme was organised by the russian company EMT, which ordered European sanctioned equipment through the Indian company Park Controls & Communications and paid for the order in rupees through Sberbank India.

The Indian side entered into a criminal conspiracy with the russians and tried to deceive the European manufacturer, claiming that India was the end user and that the goods were not transferred to russia.

At the same time, the Indians sent the russians not only the sanctioned equipment and software keys to it, but also duplicated all their correspondence with European manufacturers. Nevertheless, thanks to the documents obtained by the intelligence officers, it was possible to conduct a special operation and disrupt any further use of European equipment worth millions of euros by the russians, as well as block further supplies through a channel that the russians considered very convenient and reliable. The results of the investigation are available here: https://informnapalm.org/en/cyberstorm-256/

Russia and China join forces to spread disinformation and manipulation

According to the report, russia and China continue refining their manipulation tactics, with Beijing expanding its global media footprint while concealing involvement through proxies. Though operating independently, their narratives notably converged in blaming NATO for ‘escalation’.Both increasingly deploy AI tools and elaborate deception networks that function like icebergs – visible state channels above water, vast covert networks beneath. 

The full report on the EEAS website offers more insights into these fast-evolving threats.

The latest EEAS report on Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (FIMI) threats maps out the digital infrastructure deployed by foreign actors, mainly by russia, but also by China, to manipulate and interfere in the information space of the EU and partner countries with the objective to spread disinformation, to erode trust and undermine democratic societies. This map shows how attributed channels are only the tip of the iceberg of FIMI activities as they rely with extensive covert networks of channels with hidden connections, such as Doppelganger, African Initiative, Portal Kombat or False Façade. Details here.

North Korea Creates New Unit for AI Cyber Attacks

The Research Center 227 cyber group will operate under the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) intelligence agency and focus on developing ‘offensive hacking technologies and data theft programs,’ TechCrunch reports.In addition, this unit will study Western cybersecurity systems and computer networks to steal digital assets, develop AI-based methods to steal information, and coordinate with other north korean hacker groups abroad.

It is noted that north korean hackers have recently been actively attacking cryptocurrency exchanges and companies around the world. The FBI and the US National Security Agency have repeatedly accused the DPRK's intelligence agencies of cyberattacks and espionage. north korea has been a strategic partner of russia since 2023: It has been supplying the putin regime with weapons and taking part in military operations against Ukraine. Obviously, cyber espionage is also an important area of cooperation between the two dictatorial states.

Russian intelligence services behind arson attacks on shopping centres in Vilnius and Warsaw 

A Lithuanian investigation has found that the man who set fire to an IKEA store in Vilnius on 9 May 2024 was acting on behalf of russian special services. Before that, he visited Warsaw, where he and his accomplice agreed to arrange arson attacks on shopping centres in Lithuania and Latvia. The price was €10,000 and a used BMW.

The fire in the Warsaw shopping centre is also linked to russian special services.

rThis information was confirmed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. russian specservices are increasingly recruiting young people looking for easy money on the Internet, offering them substantial rewards for various subversive activities. In Ukraine, for example, there have been more than a hundred such cases. Very often, these are orders to manufacture and plant explosives in public places.  These cases are further proof that the kremlin is waging bloody terror not only against Ukraine but also against the whole of Europe.

The first neo-Nazi from Russia is sentenced to life in prison 

russian neo-Nazi petrovsky from the "rusich" military group has been sentenced to life in Finland for war crimes in Ukraine. vojislav torden (real name petrovsky) was found guilty of killing 22 Ukrainian soldiers and seriously wounding four more soldiers of the Ukrainian defence forces in the Luhansk region in autumn 2014, Yle reports (https://yle.fi/a/74-20141064), citing the decision of the Helsinki District Court.

The evidence included witness testimony, as well as photos and videos posted by "rusich" neo-Nazis in the public domain.

petrovsky himself took and distributed photos of the dead soldier. The Finnish police managed to detain the russian executioner at Helsinki airport on 20 July 2023.The Security Service of Ukraine noted that the joint work of Ukrainian and Finnish law enforcement agencies made it possible to collect substantiated evidence of petrovsky's guilt and sentence him to a realistic term of imprisonment. And this precedent is worthy of attention - it demonstrates that every war crime has no statute of limitations, and every criminal will be punished even after the war is over.

Russians involve children in weapons production and torture prisoners

Students of Simferopol's (occupied Crimea) school No. 5 are being forced to make parts for russian UAVs and chargers for assault rifles.
The whole process takes place under the supervision of military instructors, and the products are handed over to the occupation army units, the National Resistance Centre reported.
The russian invaders present this gross violation of international humanitarian law as a ‘volunteer initiative’.

The Wall Street Journal published a large article about the torture of Ukrainians in russian prisons, citing three former federal penitentiary officials: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/russia-prisons-ukranian-pow-torture-52df7908

The main conclusion of the article is that torture is not an excess of local executors, but an official policy of the russian authorities.
russian torturers subjected Ukrainian prisoners to torture using stun guns attached to their genitals, beating them with rubber sticks and boiler pipes.
The russians deliberately beat prisoners of war in the same place day after day, preventing injuries from healing and causing infection inside the bruises. Prisoners were denied medical care, and many of them developed gangrene, leading to amputations.
Read more about the crimes of the russians here: https://war.ukraine.ua/russia-war-crimes/ or here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_crimes_in_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine

Russia offers cryptocurrency for attacks on mosques in the UK

Pro-russian Telegram channels have already been implicated in cases of Islamophobic graffiti in London, and now they have moved on to openly calling for knife attacks. They also distribute instructions for making bombs and models for 3D printing weapons, The Guardian reports.Evidence of a russian connection includes the use of the Cyrillic alphabet, russian-language chat posts, and administrative accounts set to the russian language and GMT+3 time zone.

Evidence of a russian connection includes the use of the Cyrillic alphabet, russian-language chat posts, and administrative accounts set to the russian language and GMT+3 time zone.

Cryptocurrency helps russia finance its criminal operations. The Financial Times reported that the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) is investigating two companies, Smart and TGR, which acted as a financial centre for global criminals with large cash assets and sanctioned individuals using cryptocurrency.
According to the NCA, among other things, the network served ‘russian espionage operations’, and the state-owned "rt media group", which is under all Western sanctions, also uses Smart to secretly transfer money to support its activities in the UK.

Russia has launched a cyber attack on dozens of Italian companies and government agencies

The hackers targeted, in particular, Intesa Sanpaolo, Banca Monte dei Paschi, Iccrea Banca, Milan Linate and Malpensa airports, as well as the ports of Taranto and Trieste, Reuters reports: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/alleged-pro-russian-hackers-hit-20-italian-websites-cybersecurity-agency-says-2025-02-17/ 

In addition, the websites of several ministries, carabinieri, financial police and some transport companies were attacked, ANSA reports.
The Italian National Cybersecurity Agency claims that the pro-russian hacker group NoName057(16) is behind the series of attacks. These cyberattacks did not affect the operation of companies.
Cybersecurity officials linked the attack to a statement by Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who compared modern russia to the Third Reich because of its war of aggression against Ukraine.

russia has created a new spy unit for sabotage in europe

The new unit, known to Western intelligence agencies as the Special Tasks Department (SSD), is based at the russian military intelligence headquarters on the outskirts of moscow, The Wall Street Journal reports: https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/russia-spy-covert-attacks-8199e376

According to Western intelligence services, it was created in 2023 in response to Western support for Ukraine. "russia believes that it is in conflict with what it calls the ‘collective West’ and is acting accordingly, including threatening us with nuclear weapons and increasing its army", James Appathurai, NATO's Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Hybrid Warfare, told the newspaper.

Sandworm hackers from RF target organisations in the US and EU

They use several methods to compromise victims' online infrastructure and gain access to critical sectors, Microsoft analysts say: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/02/12/the-badpilot-campaign-seashell-blizzard-subgroup-conducts-multiyear-global-access-operation/

These include energy, oil and gas, telecommunications, shipping, weapons production, and international government projects. According to analysts, russian cybercriminals initially focused on attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, but in 2023, the BadPilot campaign, a subgroup of Sandworm, achieved permanent access to ‘numerous’ high-value sectors in the US, EU, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

International Reporters gathers Kremlin propagandists from different continents 

On a moscow-funded platform, a dozen pseudo-journalists from eight different countries are promoting russia's occupation of Ukraine, military ‘successes’ and praising russia's foreign policy, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. Among them:- Adrien Bocquet - a Frenchman living in russia who spreads disinformation about the war in Ukraine in the French media;- Andrea Lucidi, a pro-kremlin Italian who demonstrated the russian invasion symbol ‘z’ and was granted ‘asylum’ in russia;- Vanessa Beeley, a British woman who collaborated with russian propagandist RT and supported former Syrian dictator Assad.

RSF also found that in the first nine months of 2024, International Reporters received more than €27,000 from the sanctioned russian organisation Dialogue Regions, as well as direct funding from the russian Ministry of Digitalisation.In addition to the above-mentioned pseudo-journalists, RSF focuses on the co-founders of the resource - victoria smorodina and Christel Neant.

viktoriya smorodina is the editor-in-chief of the International Reporters website and also runs the russian LLC Laboratory of Attention, established in October 2023, whose main activity is to finance this platform.Néan is originally from France, moved from Belgium to occupied Donetsk in 2016, and later became a russian citizen. She created the French-language propaganda website donbass insider. She is currently filming interviews and stories with local residents of the occupied cities in eastern Ukraine.In addition, according to RSF, the kremlin news agency is currently expanding its network in Africa. In 2024, it signed a cooperation agreement with the Cameroonian media group For You Media, headed by politician Serge Matomba.

Russia is deceiving foreigners into assembling drones to kill Ukrainians

The russians have launched an advertising campaign offering employment to citizens of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and other countries in the alabuga economic zone. They promise career growth, high salaries and interesting work. In reality, workers are involved in the assembly of Iranian military drones Shahed-136. People sign contracts, and when they find out what kind of work is actually offered, they try to refuse.

But those who refuse are intimidated and blackmailed. Some are subjected to physical violence. There are also cases where people's documents are taken away.

Mostly young people (under the age of 22) looking for a promising job are recruited for this work. More information about the scheme can be found in an investigation by the Azerbaijani TV channel Baku TV.But the geography of the search for ‘talent’ is actually much wider. The Russians also invite Latin Americans and even women from Africa to assemble weapons for murder. There is a story about this on The African Report: https://www.theafricareport.com/364458/how-russia-recruits-african-women-for-its-war-effort/

Russia has stepped up its disinformation campaign against Switzerland

After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, russians began to actively promote narratives aimed at undermining confidence in Switzerland's neutrality and discrediting it as an international mediator, the Swiss portal SWI writes (https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-affairs/how-switzerland-is-caught-up-in-russias-propaganda-machine/88785511). Most often, russians criticise Switzerland for supporting Ukraine, accepting refugees and hosting a peace summit in June 2024. 

In 2024, the russian TV channel "rt" increased its news coverage of Switzerland 10-fold by launching special sections, including ‘The End of Neutrality?’. And the hacker group NoName05716 attacked the websites of the municipalities of Geneva and Vevey and banks in the cantons of Vaud and Zurich.

How does disinformation penetrate Switzerland?- The kremlin's propaganda seeps into Switzerland via France and Germany with the help of Anti-Spiegel and Réseau International, which are often cited by pro-russian Swiss resources such as weltwoche.ch, uncutnews.ch, conversion-news.org;- russians use Telegram, YouTube, TikTok, X, proxy media or fake websites imitating the original ones to spread lies and manipulations;- russian ‘online troll farms’ engage people to create millions of comments or offensive posts on social media to foment conflict or influence public opinion.

The Kremlin's Doppelganger project continues to operate

Between 28 December 2024 and 5 January 2025 alone, Alliance4Europe analysts identified 288 tweets belonging to the russian Doppelganger project. During this period, information criminals spread 24 fake articles in French, German, Ukrainian and Hebrew.According to Alliance4Europe's report, all but one of the articles contain a link to a russian IP address linked to a British legal entity.

It belongs to a citizen of Ukraine. Analysts note that this requires a more detailed investigation.
The information about the incident was shared with the administration of Platform X, reputable media and European governments. However, it can already be stated that despite repeated warnings and instructions on how to track such activities, the Doppelganger operation continues to operate on Elon Musk's platform.
Read more about the Doppelganger international disinformation project here: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/?s=Doppelganger

The Kremlin is trying to influence the upcoming presidential election in Poland

The task of the influence group, which was prepared by russia's Main Intelligence Directorate, is to spread fakes and organise bot farms. This group has already been exposed by Polish intelligence services. This was reported by the head of the Ministry of Digitalisation Krzysztof Gawkowski.

russian intelligence services are using specialised platforms on the darknet to look for Poles willing to spread disinformation for a reward of 3-4 thousand euros.

These attempts have been noticed since the beginning of 2025.He explained that it is about spreading disinformation and recruiting people to create content to destroy the cohesion of the political scene in Poland. "Russia is waging a cyber war with Poland, not a cold war, but a warm one. We are the most attacked country in the European Union", Gawkowski added. The first round of the presidential election in Poland is scheduled for 18 May.

Europe launches large-scale campaign to block pro-Kremlin Telegram channels

The restrictions apply to media outlets such as "ria novosti", "izvestia" and "rossiyskaya gazeta, as well as federal TV channels: "russia 1", "channel one", "ntv" and "russia today". However, an analysis by Insight News Media has revealed dozens of other russian propaganda channels on Telegram that are not affiliated with official russian media.

These channels continue to operate and spread russian disinformation in different languages.

Content analysis has revealed a wide network of channels spreading kremlin disinformation in English. Among them are specially created pro-russian English-language channels targeting audiences in the EU and the US. The russians use a similar approach to other foreign audiences, including France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In addition, analysts note the active work of the russian Embassy in Bolivia on the Telegram platform. Please pay attention to the information channels on Telegram.

Why the Russian Orthodox Church is considered a covert spy network around the world?

What has long been obvious to the Ukrainian public about the nature of the russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is gradually becoming clear to the European establishment. The ROC is used not only as an instrument of soft power, but also as a real spy network.The OSINT agency Molfar has conducted a study from open sources, analysing 11 European countries. In the first part, we talk about 5 of them - Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

One of the examples is a russian church in Västerås, Sweden, which is suspiciously close to numerous strategic facilities. A few kilometres from the church, there is a plant for the production of nuclear fuel cells - Westinghouse Electric.

The distance between them is only 4.22 kilometres. Another strategic facility, the Västerås flygplats airport, is even closer, almost 500 metres away. A combined heat and power plant and the headquarters of the energy supplier Mälarenergi AB are located 6 kilometres from the church. And almost 5 kilometres away is the ABB Metallurgy metallurgical plant. Until 2024, the rector of the church served as CEO of NC Nordic Control AB, a Swedish company owned by russian developer pavel gerasimov (Gerda group). gerasimov owns a large number of church projects in Sweden, while he is also involved in a drug trafficking case.We recommend that you read the full study here.

Oleg Yasinsky designer of the Russian disinformation network in Latin America

Infobae has published an investigation into how the Telesur correspondent and RT columnist has set up a structure with local collaborators who replicate narratives in favour of moscow and against the West to Spanish audiences. With his clear Spanish and smiling face, Yasinsky sends each of his reports to Telesur, Chavismo's network in Latin America. In the russian media, he is presented as a ‘Ukrainian-Chilean’.Oleg Yasinsky is the head of the disinformation network that the kremlin is building in Latin America. The ‘Yasinsky Network’ has started to operate mainly in Chile, Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, where Yasinsky has more contacts.  Yasinsky is the main regional link in a much broader chain of disinformation with a global reach. It is part of a mega-structure in the russian capital that has three command centres: The Social Design Agency (SDA), the Internet Development Institute and Structura National Technologies.

These corporations are under sanctions from the European Union and the United Kingdom.Yasinsky managed to create his own network of small media outlets and collaborators (‘loyal contacts’) in Latin America. Among the media outlets that give the greatest impetus to his instructions is the long list available to Infobae: Presssenza, El Ciudadano, Summary Latinoamericano, Desinformemonos, Telesur, Estrategia, Barão de Itararé, Peoples Dispatch, Clacpi, Dialogues do Sul, Liberación, In Pirqa, Colombia Informa, La Pluma, VeritasPress, Critical Sociology, Globatium, Malaga al Día and Luis Emilio Recabarren. 

What does the russian agent ask of the editors and journalists of these media?- To create a public opinion in Latin America that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people are not as they are portrayed by the Western media, and that not all Ukrainians support the (Volodymyr) Zelenskiy regime and NATO;- To convey to Ukraine and the countries of the former Soviet Union that the voices of Latin Americans, Europeans and Ukrainians living abroad support a ‘brotherly’ people, a peaceful and friendly Russia/Ukraine.’In addition to publishing in local media, Yasinsky is also trying to create NGOs in different countries in support of the ‘other Ukraine’. Infobae's sources add that the processes are being managed from Chile, where Yasinsky usually spends a lot of time and the country where he has the most contacts (as well as a passport of that country). Read more about the investigation here.

russia intensifies blackmail, sabotage, cyberattacks in the eu

russia's subversive activities in the West have become systematic. In the last year alone, russians have stepped up their subversive activities in Europe, from cyberattacks to assassinations, with the obvious aim of creating chaos and an atmosphere of fear. In March, perpetrators hired by russian military intelligence set fire to warehouses belonging to Ukraine in Leyton, east London. moscow has

also been accused of a series of arson attacks across Europe, from Polish shopping centres to a German factory. 

And as British cabinet minister Pat McFadden recently warned, russia has expanded its cyberattack campaign. For example, the attacks on Czech railways this year or the regular waves of false bomb threats. Such sabotage and campaigns of cyber and proxy attacks are aimed at dividing and demoralising Europeans, as well as trying to convey to Europeans the sense that continued support for Ukraine is having a negative impact on their lives and security. But the issue is not Ukraine, it is the fact that the kremlin wants to continue its criminal activities with impunity.

Viktor Orbán continues to manipulate the issue of Russian energy carriers

Russian hackers launch first phishing campaign on WhatsApp

Russia interferes in German elections: Storm-1516 cyber group exposed

The US imposes new sanctions for interference in the electoral process by Iranian and Russian intelligence services

Kremlin increases spending on censorship and suppression of independent journalism

Romanian intelligence has data on Russian interference in the presidential election

Russia is stepping up its efforts in the information space against Ukraine and its allies

TikTok is suspected of criminally ignoring fake accounts before the Romanian elections

Russia regularly transfers weapons to third countries for acts of aggression

Russian cybercriminals target European and American users

Russians are training new propagandists in Africa

The Kremlin's anti-Israel rhetoric is reinforced by the arming of Jerusalem's opponents

Kremlin cybercriminals are attacking government websites and companies in Belgium

Russian special services are recruiting Europeans with pro-Russian views to Telegram

Russia has created a network of influence on events in several countries in Meta

"Reporters Without Borders" is launching a project to analyze the impact of propaganda and disinformation in the world

Russia bribed more than 130,000 citizens of Moldova to prevent its accession to the EU

Russia intensified its information war against Moldova

Russia's ally has stepped up phishing cyberattacks against high-ranking US and Israeli officials

Polish special services neutralized a group of cyberspies controlled by Moscow, and Norway is preparing for sabotage

Western investors in big Russian business