Czechs roll up network that spread Russian propaganda in Europe, emergency debate in House of Representatives about the role of the Netherlands

The network is said to have used the Czech website Voice of Europe to discourage European Union member states from supporting Ukraine. According to Fiala, the European Parliament has also been ‘reached’. He gave no further details. However, the Czech Republic has imposed sanctions against Voice of Europe and its two main players: the pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk and his associate Artem Marchevsky. The Voice of Europe site is no longer accessible.

The Czech domestic security service BIS claims that Voice of Europe paid politicians across Europe with Russian money to advocate ending aid to Ukraine. These would be politicians from the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary and Poland, a source at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs told news site Deník N. The far-right German party Alternative für Deutschland is mentioned by name. The security service does not mention the names of individual politicians.

Friend of Putin

According to Deník N, the security service noticed Voice of Europe early last year, when the site had a new Polish owner. The Czechs discovered that the Pole was a stooge of Artem Marchevsky, a Ukrainian living in the Czech Republic. It would have been Marchevsky who contacted European politicians on behalf of Voice of Europe.

In turn, Marchevsky is a close friend of Viktor Medvedchuk, oligarch and personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Medvedchuk was for decades one of Ukraine’s most influential pro-Russian politicians. In the run-up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin saw Medvedchuk as a candidate to lead a pro-Russian puppet government in Ukraine.

After the invasion, the oligarch was arrested in Ukraine on suspicion of high treason. Six months later he was released in a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Medvedchuk then settled in Russia, from where he is said to have managed Voice of Europe. The site is outspokenly anti-EU in its reporting and offers a platform to far-right European politicians, who are often favorable to Russia.

No response Baudet

For example, FvD leader Thierry Baudet was interviewed by Voice of Europe in August. In the interview, Baudet states that Russia is waging a defensive war against NATO in Ukraine, a position that is consistent with Russian propaganda about the war. The FvD leader does not provide a substantive response when asked. “Haha,” he responds to questions from the ANP news agency.

Of the current Dutch MEPs, Marcel de Graaff (FvD) speaks most often at Voice of Europe. He regularly distributed the site’s articles via social media. In an interview from October last year, he said, among other things, that Europe can only become a serious power bloc by working together with Russia.

De Graaff, who always stands up for Russia and Ukraine and criticizes the West, calls the reporting ‘pure slander’ from parties that allow themselves to be fooled by American propaganda. He states that he is only looking for peace, ‘and to spread that message we do not need any payments’.

Searches

The Polish security service is also involved in the investigation into Voice of Europe. The agency carried out house searches on Wednesday in Warsaw and Tychy, not far from the Czech border. Tens of thousands of euros and dollars in cash were found. The department also confiscated mobile phones and other devices.

The searches are related to the investigation into a Polish national suspected of spying for Russia. He is said to have spread pro-Russian propaganda on behalf of Russia and was placed ‘in the vicinity of Polish and European parliamentarians’. It is not known whether it concerns the Polish owner of Voice of Europe.

Debate

Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte calls the reports about Russian money flows to European politicians ‘very worrying’. “This shows how great the risk of foreign influence is,” Rutte said. GroenLinks-PvdA MP Jesse Klaver sees the affair as ‘a direct threat to our national security’ and asks the cabinet for clarification.

D66, CDA and Volt are also calling for an investigation to determine whether Dutch politicians have indeed received money from Russia and which politicians are involved. At the request of PVV leader Geert Wilders, the House of Representatives will debate Russian money flows to Dutch politicians today or tomorrow.