A Russian intelligence agent leading a Kremlin disinformation campaign across the African continent has aided influence operations in Europe for years, according to documents seen by Bloomberg and government officials familiar with the matter.
Artem Kureyev, identified in an Estonian lawsuit in 2022 as an agent of Russia’s Federal Security Service, has been in frequent contact with at least half a dozen European journalists, arranging and covering travel expenses for some of them to visit the occupied territories in Ukraine. Times appears to have offered to pay for planted news articles, the documents show.
On other occasions he has used more subtle methods to influence reporting by arranging interviews, highlighting and discussing topics in the news or organizing press events.
