Russia is responsible for 80 percent of foreign influence operations in the world, according to Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
Lipavsky told a conference in Prague on October 9: “Russia is currently responsible for 80 percent of influence operations in the world. This is four times more than the rest of the world combined.”
“We need much more determination in the fight against Kremlin influence than we have shown so far. The solution lies in strategic communication, sanctions, exposing crimes and utilizing existing legal measures,” he added, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Ahead of the 2024 U.S. election, there are concerns about Russian election interference. Senior U.S. intelligence officials have warned that malign influence campaigning could ramp up in the U.S. ahead of the November vote, The Kyiv Independent alleged.
Newsweek has reached out to the Czech Republic government’s press department via email for comment.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky listens to questions during a press conference at the end of an informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs in Prague, Czech Republic on May 31, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin grimaces during a bilateral meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace during the Summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on October 9, 2024. Lipvasky said at a press conference that Russia is responsible for 80 percent of foreign influence operations in the world.
MICHAL CIZEK/Getty Images, Canva Stock
Lipavsky’s comments came as a new book from Watergate reporter Bob Woodward published a series of claims about former President Donald Trump and his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Woodward claims that Trump maintained a friendly relationship with Putin after his presidency. He also claims that Trump sent Putin COVID tests in the early days of the pandemic—allegations Trump has denied but which the Kremlin has said are true.
Trump’s campaign team has denied Woodward’s allegations, calling him an “angry little man.”
Lipavsky spoke as the Czech Republic, which has been a member of NATO since 1999, is expected to deliver at least half a million shells to Ukraine by the end of the year as part of a framework under a Czech-led procurement called the “Czech ammunition initiative.”
Russia‘s reported interference in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. elections has heightened concerns around this year’s vote, and as the election draws closer there are increased reports of global interference.
The Kyiv Independent reported that in August the African countries Mali and Niger both severed their diplomatic ties with Ukraine in what is suspected to be connected to Russian interference in the two countries.
On October 4, the same newspaper reported that authorities in Moldova, a U.S. ally, had accused a Russian oligarch of a $15 million election interference plot ahead of the Moldovan general election, which is scheduled to take place on October 20.
Russia, China and Iran are reportedly seeking to seek spread fake news in the hope of targeting audiences throughout the U.S., according to research Microsoft released in August.
The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center’s “threat intelligence” report stated: “Foreign malign influence concerning the 2024 U.S. election started off slowly but has steadily picked up pace over the last six months due initially to Russian operations but more recently from Iranian activity.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin via email for comment.
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