Austria’s security services (DSN) have uncovered a Russian disinformation operation, coordinated through a Bulgarian intermediary. The campaign aimed to discredit Ukraine in German-speaking countries by deploying fake pro-Ukraine content embedded with extremist cues to manipulate perception. 1/6 Graffiti near Vienna’s Soviet War Memorial mimicking Ukrainian nationalist symbols fits DSN’s findings. The operation sought to provoke moral outrage and pressure local authorities, all while reinforcing Moscow’s false narrative portraying Ukraine as a neo-Nazi state. 2/6

Ukraine’s security and intelligence agencies, in coordination with their Polish colleagues, executed a complex counterintelligence operation resulting in the detention of Kyrylo Molchanov, a Russian intelligence asset operating under the guise of a political commentator. 1/7 Molchanov was reportedly active on behalf of both the Russian FSB and SVR. A key figure in Kremlin-aligned media linked to Viktor Medvedchuk, he played a role in disinformation efforts targeting Ukraine and its international partners. 2/7

Russian internet users searched for “Michael Stürzenberger stabbed” before the knife attack on him in Mannheim, Germany, in May 2024. 1/5 Russians also accessed a live webcam feed of Mannheim’s town square shortly before the stabbing, suggesting possible foreknowledge. 2/5

Just before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) shipped over €9 billion in cash to Russia. At least 10 shipments arrived on or after 24 February, boosting liquidity as Russian forces attacked Kyiv. 1/5 Recipients included TBSS, a firm linked to Russian government agencies. Experts say the influx of foreign cash likely supported Putin’s war effort, even if RBI insists it only dealt with banks. Cash can buy loyalty – and fund war operations. 2/5

It is a legitimate point that the idiocy of Steve Witkoff’s recent comments on Ukraine stems from his complete lack of knowledge about Ukraine, or Russia, or politics in general. 1/9 After all, Witkoff has spent his entire life in real estate investment — he is simply unqualified for the role Trump has assigned to him. 2/9

“The future of Europe should not be decided in Washington or Moscow”. President Emmanuel Macron delivered his address to the French people today, here's a thread summarising his speech. 1/11 His address has outlined a strategic vision for France and Europe in response to mounting global instability, particularly the ongoing war in Ukraine and the broader Russian threat. 2/11

Have you noticed a recent uptick in "expert analyses" arguing that Russia remains a strong economy able to wage its war against Ukraine for many years? This uptick is hardly a coincidence, and a new insider report from VCHK-OGPU suggests it's part of Russian information warfare and provides even more details on what is going on inside the Kremlin regime. 1/7 In the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin tasked an informal group of loyal economists (Anton Siluanov, Maxim Oreshkin, Elvira Nabiullina, etc.) with managing economic and financial issues, as well as providing him with reports on real assessment of Russian economy. 2/7

As Ukrainian forces continue to annihilate North Korean troops and occasionally take them prisoner, some intriguing details have come to light. A short thread 🧵 1/9 Capturing POWs has proven challenging as North Koreans and Russians alike are apparently instructed to kill wounded NK soldiers to prevent them from falling into Ukrainian hands. Yet recently Ukrainians have successfully captured two NK soldiers alive. 2/9

With the holiday quiet filling my inbox, I took the opportunity to explore Russia’s potential to disrupt Western underwater cables. Here’s what I uncovered – it’s a deep dive, so buckle up! 1/21 There are three main methods to interfere with underwater cables. The first involves deploying trained professionals to manually cut the cables. This can be done using scuba divers for shallow waters up to 50 metres deep, typically near shorelines, or saturation divers for depths reaching 300 metres. However, the primary drawback of this approach is the risk of divers being caught, which significantly reduces plausible deniability of the responsible party. 2/21

A snapshot of the situation in Romania:

— A largely unknown far-right candidate shocks the nation by unexpectedly winning the first round of the presidential elections. 1/8 — The political establishment, caught off guard, demands a recount of the votes, suspecting irregularities. 2/8

Moscow’s ultimate goal in its war against Ukraine was stated by Putin as early as April 2008 at the Nato summit in Bucharest: the eradication of Ukraine as an independent state and nation. 1/8 The Kremlin envisions to achieve the first part of its aim by dismantling Ukraine, annexing most of it into Russia, and leaving the barely functional remnants to neighbouring European countries with historical ties to those regions. 2/8

It's relatively straightforward to anticipate the political warfare tactics Russia might employ against the West. The key lies in understanding the tactics Russia believes the West is using against it. Russia feels justified in "returning the favour" – in other words, it often mirrors the actions it perceives the West is directing toward it, responding in kind based on what it considers hostile practices. 1/5 The Putin regime believes that Western nations are interfering in Russian internal politics, supporting opposition leaders and influencers, anti-governmental protests, and media and NGOs critical of the Kremlin to foster unrest. In a “reverse-engineering” mode, Russia is supporting all Western-based stakeholders that challenge the mainstream authorities. 2/5

A quick take on the Georgian parliamentary elections the day after: the situation, I’m afraid, looks desperate. 1/13 The pro-regime exit poll gave the lead to the ruling pro-Russian and anti-Western “Georgian Dream” party run by the richest Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili (56.1%), while the two exit polls commissioned by two pro-democratic TV stations projected a victory of the potential coalition of several pro-Western parties. 2/13

While I am generally supportive of the idea of offering NATO membership to Ukraine without including territories outside of Kyiv's sustainable control under the Article 5 umbrella, I think we should be honest to ourselves: if that, indeed, happens, Ukraine will unlikely ever re-gain those territories in any foreseeable future. 1/10 The reason why the above-mentioned security arrangement cannot be called "a divided Germany scenario" lies in the conceptual difference between the Soviet occupation of parts of Germany and Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine. 2/10

Earlier this month, Italian cities saw a pro-Russian billboard campaign: “Russia is not our enemy” was written on billboards that also depicted an Italy-Russia handshake. The billboards also called on stopping to provide money for “weapons for Ukraine and Israel”. 1/15 Ukraine’s Embassy in Italy responded quickly to the campaign saying that it was “deeply concerned by the arrogance of Russian propaganda” in Rome and asking the Rome authorities “to reconsider granting permits for such posters that have a clear purpose of rehabilitating the image of the aggressor state” 2/15

https://x.com/UKRinIT/status/1832813095473029570

A brief comment on the FT recent piece on Michel Houellebecq. First, a quote. 1/6 When I read "Submission" - knowing that it was considered controversial - I actually could not understand why it was seen as such. I myself thought it was some artsy porn tinged with parlour political conversations - a sort of a pale, hollowed-up version of revolutionary porn of Marquis de Sade. 2/6

While the links between Russia and the far-right riots in the UK remain hypothetical, the connection between a number of Russian stakeholders and Tommy Robinson (real name: Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) is well established. Let me review them in this thread. 1/17 Robinson appeared in the Kremlin-controlled Russian-language media sphere around summer 2019. His first Russian media contact was Edvard Chesnokov, a correspondent working at the foreign affairs desk of the Russian pro-regime tabloid Komsomolsksaya pravda. 2/17

Nigel Farage's claims that the West allegedly provoked the Russian invasion of Ukraine are not coming out of nowhere, and the context behind this picture from a few years ago helps understand his claims. Left: Farage, right: Nadia Borodi (Sass). 1/10 Borodi is originally from Ukraine, and together with her partner Oleh Voloshyn they operated an agent network in Europe on behalf of Ukrainian pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Left: Borodi, right: Voloshyn. 2/10

Ukrainian athlete Olga Kharlan refused to shake her Russian opponent Anna Smirnova’s hand after winning the bout at the Fencing World Championships, and was disqualified by the International Fencing Federation @FIE_fencing. 1/7 The International Fencing Federation (FIE) was, until recently, presided by a Russian Kremlin-linked businessman Alisher Usmanov, here in the right. 2/7

The latest report on Russian non-Kremlin right-wing extremism suggests that the war and the Kremlin’s pro-war rhetoric have emboldened the Russian far right who had been in crisis for many years. 1/10sova-center.ru/racism-xenopho… Right-wing extremists are deeply integrated into various civil society structures around the war: they help “refugees”, residents of the regions affected by the war, and the Russian military. 2/10

Since the EU Ambassadors have finally agreed on the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, a Russian "academic" Sergey Karaganov is likely among a dozen of Russian propagandists who are sanctioned by the EU individually. Here's something that one needs to note. 1/7 Karaganov hit the news recently as he suggested to the Russian leadership to target several Western countries with nuclear weapons. 2/7