Report: Slovakia Grants Refuge to Alleged Pro-Russia Campaigner

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Facts

• According to a report published by Czech news outlet Denik N on Tuesday, Slovakia has granted temporary protection to Ukrainian-Israeli citizen Artem Marchevskyi, accused of running a pro-Russia influence campaign.¹
• While his lawyer confirmed that Marchevskyi — the former general producer of the '112 Ukraine' TV channel — is now in Slovakia, the country's internal affairs ministry said an investigation into the case is underway.²
• This comes after Peter Pellegrini, an ally of pro-Russia Prime Minister Robert Fico, won Slovakia's presidential election last month.³
• Marchevskyi, who had been living in Czechia since the outbreak of the Ukraine war, had left his Prague residence for Slovakia in March after authorities put him and the Russia-based Ukrainian tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk under sanctions.⁴
• Czech intelligence claims that Marchevskyi — who allegedly managed a purported Moscow-backed propaganda front Voice of Europe — gave €20K ($21K) in cash to Alternative for Germany's Petr Bystron allegedly to fund new employees in the European Parliament.⁵
• Several politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary have reportedly received money from Voice of Europe to spread Russian propaganda and influence upcoming parliamentary elections.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Babel, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴The Kyiv Independent, ⁵The Telegraph and ⁶BBC News.

Narratives

• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Voice of Europe. This is a bold — and correct — move from the Slovak government. Despite attempts from the legacy media and unpopular establishment politicians to promote allegations from Czech officials as the ultimate truth, they are nothing but lies intended to slander people advocating for peace as if they had ties with Russia.
• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Dw.Com. It's concerning that Slovakia has offered Voice of Europe's Marchevskyi a haven as he is knee-deep in pro-Russia interference in the EU. Since the Kremlin needs local allies to spread disinformation and propaganda across Europe, the temporary protection may be crucial for their efforts ahead of June's European elections.

Predictions