Austria says it has uncovered a Russian-steered campaign to spread disinformation about Ukraine

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian authorities said Monday that they uncovered a Russian-steered run aimed astatine spreading disinformation astir Ukraine pursuing the detention successful December of a Bulgarian pistillate accused of spying for Russia.

Austria's home quality bureau unearthed grounds of the cognition arsenic it analyzed devices recovered successful a hunt of the woman's home, the Interior Ministry said successful a statement. It said the probe showed that a fewer weeks aft Russia launched its full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful 2022, a compartment moving for Russian quality was acceptable up and planned a large-scale disinformation run successful German-speaking countries, peculiarly Austria.

The radical was progressive online but besides utilized stickers and graffiti with contented specified arsenic far-right symbols and nationalist statements meant to look similar pro-Ukrainian activists were liable for them, according to the Interior Ministry.

The Bulgarian suspect, whose sanction wasn't released, is believed to person played a important relation successful the effort and acted arsenic an quality contact, the ministry said, adding that she has admitted moving for the cell, peculiarly successful 2022.

A twelvemonth ago, Austria's biggest espionage ungraded successful decades erupted with the apprehension of a erstwhile Austrian quality officer, who was accused among different things of handing implicit cellphone information of erstwhile high-ranking Austrian officials to Russian quality and helping crippled a burglary astatine a salient journalist’s apartment.

The ex-officer, who was aboriginal released from custody, is suspected of having provided delicate accusation to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive chap Austrian wanted connected suspicion of fraud since the illness successful 2020 of German outgo institution Wirecard, wherever helium was the main operating officer. The apprehension warrant said chat messages provided by British authorities nexus Marsalek straight to Russia's FSB quality agency.