Russia secretly spent $300 million influencing in foreign politics

• Moscow has covertly funded political parties, officials and politicians in at least two dozen nations across four continents since 2014.
• Review found Russia is expected to continue the covert financing of foreign political parties and candidates in the coming months.
• President Joe Biden’s administration is sharing details of the review with 110 countries.

According to a recently disclosed US intelligence study, Russia has spent more than $300 million on a global operation to influence foreign political events.

Since 2014, Moscow has secretly supported political parties, authorities, and politicians in at least a dozen countries across four continents, according to the US, as the Kremlin’s influence in other countries’ affairs has come under increased scrutiny following its invasion of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden’s administration is sharing study details with 110 countries as part of its campaign to publicise Russia’s conduct.

According to a source involved with the review who was not authorised to speak publicly, the countries where electoral meddling was attempted include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and the east African island nation of Madagascar.

“What Russia is doing around the world in terms of election meddling is also an assault on sovereignty,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday, without going into specifics about the intelligence assessment.

“Part of our responsibility is not only to undertake that assessment, collection, and analysis, but also to expose what we know,” he continued.

The review also discovered that Russia is expected to continue covert financing of foreign political parties and candidates in the coming months as President Vladimir Putin attempts to maintain his global influence in the aftermath of the Ukraine war while also undermining international sanctions, according to a senior administration official on a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

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