Prague, Czech Republic (Svidomi) — The Czech government has imposed sanctions on the Voice of Europe media outlet as part of Russia’s information influence operation. Viktor Medvedchuk, a confidant of Vladimir Putin, is involved in this. He has been promoting Russian interests in Ukraine for years, for which he is suspected of treason. In April 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine detained Medvedchuk. In September 2022, Medvedchuk was exchanged for the commanders of the units that defended Mariupol in the spring of 2022.

Czech journalists have found that the Prague-based news portal Voice of Europe has been spreading narratives to persuade the European Union to stop helping Ukraine. The Czech Security Information Service (BIS) found that the pro-Russian propaganda network was conducting activities that “have serious consequences for the security of the Czech Republic and the EU”. “The Voice of Europe campaigned against Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.

The media outlet is active on social media, such as Facebook and X, with over 180,000 followers.

The Czech Republic suspects Viktor Medvedchuk and his propagandist partner, Artem Marchevsky, are involved in this media outlet. Therefore, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has imposed sanctions on them.

According to Germany’s Spiegel, Medvedchuk used Voice of Europe in several EU countries to “provide covert financial support to elected candidates in the European Parliament elections” and to “support propaganda activities” against Ukraine. The media interviewed right-wing populists and extremists, including the French National Rally, a representative of the right-wing extremist Belgian Vlaams Belang, and representatives of the German AfD.

The Czech side insists that Voice of Europe also served as a means of covertly funding candidates for European elections acceptable to Moscow.

According to SPIEGEL, the money was either handed over in cash during personal meetings in Prague or transferred using cryptocurrency. It was several hundred thousand euros.

According to the Czech daily Deník N, politicians from six European countries allegedly received money from the Russian network. These are politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary. On the German side, politicians from the AfD received money but did not specify who exactly.

The Voice of Europe published an interview with the AfD’s leading candidate for the European Parliament, Maximilian Krach, who claimed that the United States allegedly undermined the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. Russian propagandists will spread the same narratives. In a commentary for Spiegel, Krach said that he had not received any money from Voice of Europe.

Spiegel also writes that Viktor Medvedchuk and Artem Marchevsky are involved in the case.

In Ukraine, Viktor Medvedchuk was also involved in pro-Russian narratives in the media, among other things. He controlled the TV channels NewsOne, 112 Ukraine and ZIK in Ukraine, which spread anti-Ukrainian messages and promoted Medvedchuk’s activities. In 2021, they were blocked on the territory of Ukraine by the National Security and Defence Council. Machevsky was the general producer of 112 Ukrainian TV channels.

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