The United States believes that Russian intelligence agencies have worked closely with the editorial board of five Russian-language media outlets to bolster public support for the renewal Russia’s invasion of UkraineUS officials familiar with CNN’s intelligence assessment said in a media briefing.
Officers with domestic and foreign Russian intelligence agencies, the FSB and SVR, have secretly published articles in publications blaming the West for tensions with Russia over Ukraine, questioning the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government and challenging the United States’ commitment to its European allies and American officials. alleged.
One of the pillars of the alleged propaganda plan is the Strategic Culture Foundation, a Russian magazine that was sanctioned by the US Treasury last April for spreading disinformation in the 2020 US election, officials said.
US officials did not provide the basic intelligence on which the allegations were based, and refused to describe how the information was obtained. Some information is supported by open source reports.
The disclosure is part of an angry effort by the Biden administration to Declassification of intelligence iHope to pre-empt Russian military action in Ukraine, which Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and other US officials have said could happen at any time. Russia has amassed an estimated 130,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, according to two sources familiar with recent assessments.
A US official authorized to speak with the media told CNN that the disinformation campaign “is the primary driver of how the Russian government is strengthening domestic support for the invasion of Ukraine, as well as spreading any disinformation about Operation False Flag.”
Neither the Foundation for Strategic Culture nor the Russian Embassy in Washington responded to a request for comment. Russia has previously denied US allegations that the Kremlin is spreading disinformation.
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