Leaked Files from Putin’s Troll Factory: How Russia Manipulated European Elections

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  1. !ping EUROPE

    >**Leaked internal documents from a Kremlin-controlled propaganda center reveal how a well-coordinated Russian campaign supported far-right parties in the European Parliament elections — and planted disinformation across social media platforms to undermine Ukraine.**

    >In a video resembling a movie trailer, the head of Russia’s secret propaganda project, Ilya Gambashidze, removes his sunglasses and sits behind a computer, wearing a camouflage-patterned hoodie with the words “Russian Ideological Troops” spelled out on his sleeve. Text flashes on the screen: “Narrative production, content creation, 300 media outlets, 20 think tanks…” The video, part of a leak from Russia’s IT organization Social Design Agency (SDA), appears to be aimed at partners interested in their information operations services.

    >“Gambashidze is responsible for numerous projects in various countries,” a source connected to EU intelligence told us. The organization and Gambashidze are already sanctioned both in the EU and the U.S.

    >Amid the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine, the Russian presidential administration has emerged as a key client of SDA.  Recently, the U.S Department of Justice and FBI revealed that Russian officials, including Sergei Kiriyenko, the Russian presidential administration’s chief of staff and often referred to as Vladimir Putin’s right-hand man, have attended several project meetings with Gambashidze. (We exposed his role in supervising influence operations in our previous [investigative series, #KremlinLeaks](https://vsquare.org/tag/kremlin-leaks/)). Sofia Zakharova, another staffer in Putin’s administration, is also a frequent participant in these meetings.

    >“Between April 2022 and April 2023, Gambashidze took notes related to at least 20 Russian Presidential Administration meetings,” the [U.S. affidavit](https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-09/doppelganger_affidavit_9.4.24.pdf) claims, citing several documents that are now also available to VSquare.

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