Austria accuses Moscow of disinformation campaign

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Austria’s domestic intelligence agency on Monday accused Russia of conducting an “extensive disinformation campaign.”

The Directorate General for Public Security said in a press release that the alleged campaign was uncovered during an investigation into espionage allegations against a Bulgarian national.

“A Bulgarian national in Austria is suspected of spying for Russia and of being largely responsible for carrying out a disinformation operation,” the statement said.

The goal of the “covert campaign” was to manipulate public and political opinion against Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while fostering pro-Russian sentiment amid the ongoing war, it added.

“To achieve this, they resorted to activities in the media landscape on the internet as well as offline actionisms, such as stickers or graffiti. The visual and content-related design of these actions was intended to give the impression that pro-Ukrainian activists were the authors and creators,” the agency said.

According to the statement, the campaign’s creators used visual and linguistic elements designed to provoke public rejection – particularly far-right symbolism and nationalist slogans.

“The spread of false narratives, fake news and manipulative content undermines trust in our institutions and jeopardizes social cohesion,” said Austria’s State Secretary for State Security Jorg Leichtfried.

Russia has not formally responded to the accusations.

When asked by Anadolu, the Russian embassy explained that it “prefers not to react to such provocative, stupid reports.”