Russia waged a large-scale disinformation campaign against Ukraine in Austria

This was announced by the Austrian Ministry of the Interior on March 24.

In connection with the espionage charges brought against a Bulgarian citizen, investigators from the State Protection and Intelligence Directorate (DSN) have uncovered a large-scale Russian disinformation campaign in Austria. The Bulgarian citizen is suspected of spying for Russia and of playing a key role in the implementation of a disinformation operation coordinated from Russian territory. The aim of this covert campaign was to manipulate public and political opinion in the interests of Russia and to the detriment of Ukraine.

DSN became aware of this operation by Russian intelligence services through the analysis of data carriers during a search of the home of a suspected Bulgarian citizen in December last year.

The immediate goal of this disinformation cell was to use targeted actions to influence public opinion, which was negatively disposed towards Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the context of war, and thus to form pro-Russian sentiments at a higher level. To this end, they resorted to activities in the media space, on the Internet, as well as offline actions, such as stickers or graffiti.

According to the department, the visual and content design of the actions carried out by Russian agents "was intended to create the impression that their authors and creators were pro-Ukrainian activists."

In terms of content, the actual authors resorted to creative and linguistic motifs that were immediately rejected by the general public, primarily right-wing extremist symbolism and nationalist statements and codes.

Analysis of the suspect's seized data carriers revealed detailed plans for a cell controlled from Russia based on chat messages.

The suspect is believed to have played a significant role in this. According to available information, she was a contact person within the framework of intelligence activities, received packages with materials for the actions, and was also apparently authorized by Russian special services to distribute them in Germany and Austria.

The detained Bulgarian citizen documented the actions she took and sent these reports to accomplices in Russia and the UK. She admitted that, in particular, in 2022 she actively worked for the exposed disinformation group.