The government claims to have discovered a suspected Russian propaganda network in the Czech Republic. The “Voice of Europe” site was used to harm Ukraine. According to media reports, there is also a connection to the AfD.
The Czech government has added the operators of the “Voice of Europe” website to its national sanctions list against Russia. This was announced by the Foreign Ministry in Prague. The website is part of a Russian influence operation whose aim is to question Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and freedom.
The group used the Prague-based news site “Voice of Europe” to spread information intended to stop the EU from providing aid to Ukraine in the fight against the Russian army, said Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
Inclusion on the national sanctions list enables the tax authorities to freeze the property of those affected. The sanctioned people are no longer allowed to enter the Czech Republic. “The government has never shut down websites and will not do so this time, but the state organs will enforce compliance with the sanctions,” said Fiala. This would make further operations from Prague impossible.
Group questioned Ukraine’s independence
The group had been agitating on EU territory “against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” Fiala told reporters. According to his information, no Czech politicians or citizens were involved. “We have information that the goal (of the group) was to work in EU countries and gain influence in the EU Parliament,” said the liberal-conservative politician.
The oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who was accused of treason in Ukraine but came to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange, is behind the website. According to the ministry, Medvedchuk, who is considered a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was also personally placed on the sanctions list.
The decision helps protect democratic processes ahead of the European Parliament elections in June, the Czech Foreign Ministry said.
Media report on payments to politicians
The Czech daily Denik N reported that the news site had published statements from politicians calling on the EU to stop aiding Ukraine. Some European politicians who worked with the news site were paid with Russian money, which in some cases also covered their campaigns for the European elections in June.
The payments affected politicians from Germany, Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland, the paper writes, citing a source in the Czech Foreign Ministry. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was also involved, reports the AFP news agency.
According to the news magazine “Spiegel”, “Voice of Europe” includes, among other things, interviews with the AfD Europe’s top candidate Maximilian Krah and the AfD politician Petr Bystron, who is in second place on the list. Krah confirmed that he had given two interviews. “Of course he didn’t get any money for it, neither for me nor for the party,” Krah told “Spiegel”.
The website is also available in German and is active on social networks such as Facebook and on Platform X, where it has more than 180,000 followers.
Marianne Allweiss, ARD Prague, tagesschau, March 28, 2024 8:54 a.m