The Kremlin coordinates large-scale hybrid operations in Europe aimed at discrediting Ukraine and stoking internal conflicts in Europe and beyond.

Journalists from Delfi Estonia and the international network of investigative journalists OCCRP have published an investigation based on leaked documents regarding the operations of the sanctioned Social Design Agency, whose activities are directly controlled by officials in the Russian presidential administration.

These materials demonstrate the Russians’ meticulous planning of operations, shed new light on who was behind them, and expose a whole series of other pro-Kremlin attempts to influence public opinion across Europe and beyond.

ArmyInform presents key findings from the OCCRP report titled “Leaked Documents Expose Russian ‘Cognitive Strikes’ Against the West—Including Islamophobic Attacks Using ‘Pig Heads’ in Paris.”

The Kremlin’s “Cognitive Strikes” on Europe

Documents from a Moscow PR agency linked to the Russian president’s administration have helped uncover a large-scale network of information operations aimed at destabilizing the West.

These include acts of vandalism in France and Germany, propaganda disseminated through Western opinion leaders, and interference in elections — particularly in Armenia — to prevent its rapprochement with the West.

Three men from Serbia, who were later convicted of this crime, acted on the orders of Russian intelligence agencies, attempting to stir up religious and ethnic intolerance in France and Germany.

Ukraine in the Crosshairs of Russian IPSO

In 2024, the Russian agency had already attempted to undermine Western support for Ukraine through right-wing parties in the European Parliament. The documents contain information about fake protests and smear campaigns against Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Fake protests and provocations: the plan was to desecrate the monument to General Charles de Gaulle in Paris, allegedly on behalf of “Ukrainian nationalists.” The operation was intended to create a false impression of Ukraine as a source of violence and vandalism.
Disinformation campaigns: false news was spread, including fake reports about Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s luxury properties. One such story claimed that the head of state had allegedly purchased a luxury apartment in Dubai’s tallest building — the Burj Khalifa skyscraper.