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Hot fakes
The devil is in the details
Russian propaganda and fakes pose a threat to the whole world
Fakes and propaganda often imperceptibly penetrate the news feed and social networks, shaping people's thoughts, doubts, emotions. When this is repeated in a circle, a person inevitably becomes a carrier of the "information virus", regardless of position, status and profession. The only thing that can save her from this is to rely on facts and evidence. But it is important to determine their source.
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Chinese-controlled hackers carried out a cyberattack on critical infrastructure in the Czech Republic
The Czech government has stated that APT31 is responsible for the cyberattack on one of the unclassified networks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This cyber group has been conducting its malicious activities since 2022, and its criminal actions have affected the work of a diplomatic institution that has the status of a critical facility. The hackers also have public ties to the Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China.
Unfortunately, there are more and more cases of cyber attacks on democratic countries by hackers controlled by China.
Estonia accuses Kremlin of attempting armed coup
Local pro-kremlin politicians, financially supported by russian intelligence, are behind the attempted coup. This was reported by State Prosecutor Olev-Aas.The defendants included the leader of the Koos (‘Together’) movement, Aivo Peterson, and his supporters Dmitry Roots and Andrey Andronov, who in 2022 worked on creating a ‘third line’ — a civil defence unit with firearms licences,
which was to become an alternative to Estonia's existing defence and security structures.
The unit was formed in a Telegram group called ‘Civil Defence’. According to the prosecutor's office, in November 2022, the creation of a paramilitary group under the guise of a charitable organisation began with the aim of destabilising the situation and seizing power in the country. In correspondence with his associates, Peterson emphasised that this structure would ‘ensure security and perform the functions of the army’ in the event of a ‘power vacuum’.
Russian intelligence gained access to surveillance cameras in four European countries
They did this to monitor aid to Ukraine, writes The Guardian. We're talking about around 1,000 hacked cameras, mostly located near borders, ports, railway stations, and military facilities. russian intelligence used them to monitor military and humanitarian aid coming into Ukraine. The investigation, led by the United States and several European allies, also revealed significant shortcomings due to the widespread use of Chinese-made cameras, even in Romanian government institutions.
Hacked surveillance cameras were found in Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, which also border Ukraine.Reuters also reported, citing a statement by Dutch intelligence, that russian cybercriminals attacked NATO and EU networks to steal data on arms supplies to Ukraine.
The activity of the Laundry Bear hackers behind this cyberattack was first detected in September 2024. At that time, they attacked confidential databases of the Dutch police and gained access to them: https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-backed-group-hacked-into-networks-police-nato-say-dutch-authorities-2025-05-27/ In addition, Laundry Bear is responsible for cyber operations against Western governments and other institutions. Dutch intelligence adds that this group actively sought to obtain data on the procurement and manufacture of military equipment and weapons for Ukraine and attacked companies producing high-tech products to which russia does not have access due to sanctions.
RT Academy - a propaganda factory under the guise of ‘education’
According to Spravdi.ua, kremlin propagandists are launching ‘international journalism’ courses for students from Africa, Asia, China and India. Formally, this is training, but in fact it is the selection of new kremlin propagandists in the world.That is, the real goal is not skills, but influence. Instead of ethics, it's methodologies. Instead of freedom of speech, they give ‘instructions on how to talk about NATO, Ukraine and the West’.
The teachers are experienced propagandists of the RT media holding, who have been lying about Ukraine, the EU, the US, and NATO for years, as well as justifying the kremlin's crimes and masking its genocidal policy.
The academy is scheduled to open four new classes by the end of the year. To date, 2000 ‘graduates’ have been taught russian propaganda. RT establishes cooperation with universities, embassies, BRICS pseudo-educational programmes and employs its ‘graduates’ in local media around the world. The kremlin spares no expense in this regard: 79 billion rubles to RT from 2025 to 2027. In what other country is this possible? RT Academy is a tool for building a global disinformation network to influence social and political life in individual countries and regions. RT Media Holding is under US and EU sanctions.
Russian intelligence services are increasingly relying on ‘disposable agents’
It is becoming more difficult for the russians to embed their own agents in Germany, so moscow has recently been using agents recruited through social media for individual operations more often. This was stated by the deputy head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany (BfV), Zinan Zelen.According to him, such recruits are called ‘low-level agents’ or ‘disposables’. They recruit primarily those who have attracted attention with pro-russian statements on social media.
They are paid for sabotage, disinformation or espionage.At the same time, European intelligence services have been noting a significant increase in the activity of russian special services for many years, Zelen said.
"Germany is in the centre of special attention", he warned. According to him, russia's intelligence services pose a long-term threat to Europe, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine.It is worth noting that ‘disposable agents’ are offered high ‘fees’ for simple operations such as espionage, sabotage, arson, explosives, installation of GPS trackers, etc. This phenomenon is particularly common in Ukraine, as well as in Poland and Moldova. People of low social status or drug addicts are easy to recruit, but as a rule, immediately after completing the task, russian special services try to eliminate them to hide their involvement.
How Russians plant fakes in foreign media
russian propaganda tried to ‘sell’ the Estonian media a fake about the alleged death of an Estonian citizen in the war in Ukraine. The editorial office of the Estonian media outlet Postimees received a letter from an unidentified woman asking for help in finding her ‘missing husband’, allegedly an Estonian citizen who fought on the side of Ukraine. She attached screenshots with ‘an offer from the Ukrainian military to buy the body of the deceased for $2000.
The journalists found that the man in the photo was fictitious. There is neither a death registration nor confirmation of the existence of such a person in the databases.
The name, documents, photo - everything is generated or chosen at random: https://rus.postimees.ee/8248999/2000-dollarov-za-vozvrashchenie-tela-pogibshego-v-ukraine-zhitelya-estonii-kak-redakcii-pytalis-po-naglomu-vsuchit-feyk This case is about the methods of russian special services to use the so-called ‘human story’ to spread disinformation, including about the participation of foreigners in the war and the ‘cruelty’ of the Ukrainian military. The aim of these fakes is to raise doubts in foreign societies, discredit Ukraine and sow distrust in official sources.
The Kremlin denies the existence of Lithuanians as a separate nation
russian Foreign Minister lavrov has authored a foreword to the monograph ‘History of Lithuania’, which denies the existence of the language and statehood of this Baltic country. Among the authors of the book is Gedrius Grabauskas, a former associate of Lithuanian politician Algirdas Paletskis, who was convicted of spying for russia.The head of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kęstutis Budrys, called the monograph a tool of russian propaganda and compared
the book's ideas to the rhetoric that accompanied russia's invasion of Ukraine.Back then, putin published an article denying the existence of Ukrainians as a separate nation.
Kęstutis Budris said that this book was created as an instrument of hostile activity against neighbouring countries. It questions Lithuania's statehood, history, values, and symbols, and justifies the imperialism and aggression of the russian Federation against its neighbours: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2550706/russia-publishes-book-on-lithuanian-history-preface-written-by-lavrovProfessor Gintautas Mazeikis of Vytautas the Great University believes that ‘denying the existence of Lithuania is very similar to denying Ukrainians as a nation’: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2550706/russia-publishes-book-on-lithuanian-history-preface-written-by-lavrov
Poland has recorded an increase in disinformation before the presidential election
Some of the disinformation campaigns are likely to be coordinated from russia. This is reported by Polska Agencja Prasowa with reference to the Disinformation Analysis Centre of the Scientific and Academic Computer Network (NASK): https://www.pap.pl/aktualnosci/raport-pap-przed-wyborami-polska-moze-stac-sie-celem-cyberatakow-i-dezinformacjiAmong the common narratives are conspiracy theories, fakes about the participation of people without the right to vote in elections, as
well as disinformation about the interference of foreign states and the influence of the European Union.According to a report by Alliance4Europe, from 4 March to 4 April, the pro-russian disinformation campaign Doppelganger focused on Poland.
Almost 300 publications were recorded that manipulatively used materials from Polish media, including nczas.com, wpolityce.pl, bankier.pl, fakt.pl.Aleksandra Wujtowicz from the Polish Institute of International Affairs explained that disinformers add links to reliable sources, hoping that most users will not open the articles themselves, but will only react to headlines or excerpts.In addition, screenshots of old news or headlines taken out of context are actively used. In the context of elections, this creates additional risks for the transparency of voting and trust in the democratic process.
Russian military intelligence has been attacking French institutions for 10 years
France has accused russian military intelligence of a series of cyberattacks over the past decade against public and private institutions, as well as organisations involved in the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This was reported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with reference to a report by the national cybersecurity agency ANSSI.According to the French side, the hacker group APT28, associated with the General Staff of the russian Army, is behind the attacks.Among the recorded cases:
- an attack on the TV5 Monde television network in 2015;- an attempt to interfere in the 2017 elections, which were won by Emmanuel Macron;- a series of attacks since 2021 on a dozen institutions, including organisations related to the preparation for the Olympics.
The French government stressed that APT28 also constantly attacks Ukrainian infrastructure as part of russia's hybrid war against Ukraine, as well as conducts sabotage activities across Europe.The French agency for combating foreign digital interference, Viginum, has identified about 80 disinformation operations in favour of russia between August 2023 and early March 2025.The targets of these operations were the governments of Ukraine and European countries that support russia. The report particularly highlights the Storm-1516 disinformation campaign, which sought to influence the parliamentary elections held last year.
Russia intensifies hybrid attacks on the Netherlands
The Netherlands reported a cyberattack on its civil service. According to the director of the Netherlands Military Intelligence Directorate, Peter Reissink, russia attempted a cyberattack on the Dutch civil service to seize control of the system. The attack was repelled, but it is an alarming precedent, Reuters reports.
Intelligence also detected an attempt to interfere with critical infrastructure, probably in preparation for future sabotage. russian hybrid threats include: - cyber attacks;- physical sabotage of critical facilities;- disinformation campaigns;- espionage.Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-is-upping-hybrid-attacks-against-europe-dutch-intelligence-says-2025-04-22/
Disinformation operations against Italy have become a priority for the Kremlin
Italy has become a primary target of russia’s hybrid warfare due to its steadfast support for Ukraine and its alignment with NATO and the transatlantic relationship.
This has placed Italy in moscow’s crosshairs, leading to a multi-pronged russian strategy to undermine Rome’s interests through information warfare, cyberattacks, political subversion, and strategic maneuvering in Africa.Read the full article here.
Russia recruits Chinese for war through TikTok ads
The russian Ministry of Defence is recruiting Chinese citizens to join a private army to fight in the war against Ukraine through various platforms, including bloggers and ads on TikTok and other social media. This was stated by Chinese prisoners of war during a press conference.
These citizens of the People's Republic of China were taken prisoner by the Ukrainian Defence Forces. Now they are calling on official Beijing to facilitate their exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war held by russia.
"To our fellow Chinese citizens who want to take part in this war, we want to say that they should not do so. Because everything we heard from the russians was a lie. And it turned out that russia is not that strong, and Ukraine is not that weak. And that's why it's better not to participate in wars at all," said Wang Guangjun, a prisoner of war.
According to both foreigners, they signed the contracts, tempted by the large one-time cash reward and subsequent monthly payments of about $2,500, but never received them. After staying on the contact line for three days, they surrendered to Ukrainians, who provided them with normal conditions. The Security Service of Ukraine is currently conducting investigations to establish all the circumstances of the Chinese citizens' participation in the war and is checking the testimony of these prisoners. So, the Chinese government is allowing russia to recruit its citizens for a war that they condemn and have even offered their own ‘peace plan’. What's next? Secret transfer of military weapons?
North Korea places its agents in European IT companies
According to The Independent, north korea, currently russia's main ally in the war against Ukraine, is increasingly placing its agents to work remotely in European IT companies. And for cover, they often pose as... Ukrainians.north korean agents posing as legitimate remote IT workers are increasingly infiltrating companies in Europe to investigate European cybersecurity.
While the United States remains the primary target of these north korean spies, their growing activities in multiple countries are creating a global threat, the Google Grows Intelligence Group (GTIG) warned in a report.The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) group is also using an evolving tactic, such as increased extortion, to place its agents inside organisations, the researchers said. Read the full article here:https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/north-korea-spy-europe-it-jobs-b2725924.html
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.
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.
Russia is using sex toys for sabotage in Europe
Sex toys can contain explosives: russia is already using them to create sabotage in Europe, Reuters reports.A covert sabotage group linked to the kremlin was exposed after small bombs exploded at courier warehouses in the UK, Germany and Poland in July 2023. The explosives were inside sex toys, massage cushions and cosmetics. The cushions packed in the parcels with cosmetics and sex toys contained
concealed improvised incendiary devices made from a mixture of chemicals, including highly reactive magnesium.The chemicals were ignited by detonators adapted from cheap Chinese electronic gadgets used to track items such as lost keys. The effect was enhanced by tubes of something that looked like cosmetics but actually contained a gel of flammable compounds, including nitromethane. Do you still have arguments in favour of the humanity of the russians?
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.
This 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 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.
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/
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