VIENNA (AP) — Austrian authorities said Monday that they uncovered a Russian-steered campaign aimed at spreading disinformation about Ukraine following the detention in December of a Bulgarian woman accused of spying for Russia.
Austria’s domestic intelligence agency unearthed evidence of the operation as it analyzed devices found in a search of the woman’s home, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. It said the investigation showed that a few weeks after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a cell working for Russian intelligence was set up and planned a large-scale disinformation campaign in German-speaking countries, particularly Austria.
The group was active online but also used stickers and graffiti with content such as far-right symbols and nationalist statements meant to look like pro-Ukrainian activists were responsible for them, according to the Interior Ministry.
The Bulgarian suspect, whose name wasn’t released, is believed to have played a significant role in the effort and acted as an intelligence contact, the ministry said, adding that she has admitted working for the cell, particularly in 2022.
A year ago, Austria’s biggest espionage scandal in decades erupted with the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer, who was accused among other things of handing over cellphone data of former high-ranking Austrian officials to Russian intelligence and helping plot a burglary at a prominent journalist’s apartment.
The ex-officer, who was later released from custody, is suspected of having provided sensitive information to Jan Marsalek, a fugitive fellow Austrian wanted on suspicion of fraud since the collapse in 2020 of German payment company Wirecard, where he was the chief operating officer. The arrest warrant said chat messages provided by British authorities link Marsalek directly to Russia’s FSB intelligence agency.
