The Ministry of Interior of Austria has discovered on Monday a clandestine network of Russian German speech disinformation that was dedicated to spreading antiucranian propaganda in Europe. The authorities realized after finding digital tests during an seizure last December to a Bulgarian woman accused of espionage.
As the same source has documented, the woman had had a fundamental role in a Russian intelligence operation designed to manipulate public opinion Following the Russian Invasion of Ukraine initiated in 2022.
Although it is true that Austria is not part of NATO as a member, the geographical position in which it is located is key, which has made it one of the objectives of Russian intelligence operations, that try to infuse misinformation through Europe.
It is not the only occasion in which Vienna suffers Russian interference, because just a year ago an former Austrian intelligence officer was already arrested after being accused of filtering data sensitive to Moscow. Countries such as Poland, Germany and the Czech Republicwhich have exposed several similar activities related to the Kremlin.
The identity of the investigated woman has not transcended publicly, although the authorities have assured that He has confessed to having collaborated at the beginning on the network, which was launched in 2022 and operated both in person and remote.
Some of the tactics that the network has carried out in Europe have been the distribution of propaganda in the form of graffiti and stickers with Nationalist slogans and ultra -right symbols falsely attributed to Ukrainians, in an attempt to discredit the image of kyiv.
“The use of extreme right symbolism and nationalist slogans falsely attributed to Ukrainian activists shows a calculated attempt to feed the division and discredit Ukraine,” said an Austrian intelligence official to local media, as transferred to the Ministry of Interior. “It is a sophisticated tactic that seeks to integrate perfectly with the existing political narratives in Europe“He added.
Now, the researchers are investigated by the Network, trying to identify the rest of the agents and distribution channels used. For its part, the Ministry of Interior has stressed that There could be more arrests.
