Dragoș Mateescu
24 Jan 2025

Putin's wars and the end of Europe’s dependency on Russian energy

Putin believed that by invading Ukraine and engaging in wars in the East, he was restoring Russia's great power status. The result was Moscow's long-term loss of influence.

Ukraine Invasion All
2 days ago
DISINFORMATION: Russia was forced to invade Ukraine

According to pro-Kremlin media, the Minsk peace agreements, signed ten years ago, were willfully violated by Kyiv, and Russia was forced to intervene to protect the Russian-speaking population.

1 week ago
WAR PROPAGANDA: If Zelensky is not stopped, Ukraine will perish in a year

The Verkhovna Rada is discussing the risk of Ukraine's demise under Zelensky, according to pro-Kremlin media citing a fugitive Ukrainian MP.

1 week ago
WAR PROPAGANDA: Only union with Russia can save Ukraine

Ukraine is going through a crisis similar to that of the 17th century and, as then, only union with Russia can save it, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda.

1 week ago
The war is making pro-Putin elites richer, while it deepens inequality in Russia

The war in Ukraine is increasing the gap between Russia’s wealthy elites and the majority of the population. There is also a drive to redistribute wealth and channel it towards those loyal to Putin’s regime.

2024: The year of the "Great Reset"? All
Cezar Manu/Bucharest, Romania
06 Dec 2024

Russian propaganda narratives targeting the election campaign in Romania

Narratives identical or similar to those fostered by Russian propaganda have also been circulated in the current election campaign in Romania. They transpired not only in the rhetoric of far-right parties, which for years have internalized such theses, but also in the statements of certain politicians aligned to Romania's pro-Western course.

Russian narratives promoted by pro-Georgescu influencers on Instagram and TikTok

Romanian influencers, like the sports agent Ana Maria Prodan, continue to promote Călin Georgescu. Just like their favorite, influencers have been amplifying a series of Russian narratives, most of them adapted to Romania, but also all kinds of pseudo-scientific or conspiracy nonsense.

Ludmila Țurcanu/Bucharest, Romania
read time: 6 min
Sovereigntist Romania – from TikTok to polling stations

From Diana Șoșoacă's “pen revolution” to George Simion's “giro giro girofaru” posts and #CălinGeorgescu, sovereigntists have taken Romania’s TikTok by storm, a space where they campaigned even on election day. Altogether, sovereigntist candidates grabbed nearly 40% of total votes.

Ludmila Țurcanu/Bucharest, Romania
read time: 8 min
Trump’s victory and Europe. The party is over. What’s next?

Donald Trump (re)winning the White House could give a long-term boost to the far right in Europe, but it could also encourage the EU to rely more on itself.

Iulian Comănescu/Brussels, Belgium
read time: 9 min
Opinions All
Iulian Comănescu/Brussels, Belgium
12 Feb 2025

Why Brussels is silent (even when it speaks) about and with Donald Trump

Brussels is dismayed by the measures and positions taken by Trump. In the new geopolitical context, the EU is emerging as the last bastion of liberal democracies.

Op-ed: A step away from freedom

Serbia has been rocked by weeks of student-led protests triggered by the Novi Sad tragedy. What started as an anti-corruption drive morphed into a movement demanding a profound change of the system.

Vrsan Leštarić/Belgrade, Serbia
read time: 13 min
The USA’s takeover of Gaza, a doomed proposal

Donald Trump said the USA might take over Gaza once Palestinians leave. No one in the Middle East can accept such a proposal because it would increase instability in the region.

Cătălin Gomboș/Bucharest, Romania
read time: 5 min
The war is making pro-Putin elites richer, while it deepens inequality in Russia

The war in Ukraine is increasing the gap between Russia’s wealthy elites and the majority of the population. There is also a drive to redistribute wealth and channel it towards those loyal to Putin’s regime.

Alexander Malyarenko/Vilnius, Lithuania
read time: 4 min
Fake News, Disinformation & Propaganda All
Veridica
14 Feb 2025

DISINFORMATION: USAID staged the "Twitter revolution" in the Republic of Moldova

USAID was behind the protests of April 7, 2009 in Chișinău, the then-president of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, says amidst discussions on the organization's dissolution.

DISINFORMATION: Russia was forced to invade Ukraine

According to pro-Kremlin media, the Minsk peace agreements, signed ten years ago, were willfully violated by Kyiv, and Russia was forced to intervene to protect the Russian-speaking population.

Marin Gherman/Cernauti, Ukraine
read time: 1 min
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelenskyy bought Hitler’s residence

Hitler’s residence in the Bavarian Alps was bought by the Ukrainian president through an offshore company, pro-Kremlin media writes.

Marin Gherman/Cernauti, Ukraine
read time: 2 min
FAKE NEWS: ICJ gave territories to Romania, as Călin Georgescu also wants

A false narrative promoted by a Russian conspiracist lawyer claims that the Court in the Hague proved Călin Georgescu right and changed Romania's border with Ukraine.

Cezar Manu/Bucharest, Romania
read time: 6 min
Media monitor All
Russia Legalizes Crypto
Pro-Kremlin Russian press
Read time: 4 min
Russia Legalizes Crypto

Between circumventing Western sanctions and laundering money with digital tools

Multimedia All
Researches

Start your research here. Texts in this section provide a general overview of the key concepts and developments in the field of information warfare, with an emphasis on the anatomy and historical background of the Kremlin's disinformation campaigns and influence operations against the West.

View researches
Other subjects All
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “The fate of Ukraine is closely tied to that of Belarus”. An exclusive interview with the Belarusian opposition leader
Exclusive interview
read time: 8 min
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya: “The fate of Ukraine is closely tied to that of Belarus”. An exclusive interview with the Belarusian opposition leader

July 20 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Alexander Lukashenko's regime. Four years ago, his political stability in Belarus was seriously undermined by mass protests: democratic Belarusians at the time called for new elections and supported Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The break-up of demonstrations was followed by a brutal repression that forced many of them to leave the country, including the leader of the democratic forces. Veridica spoke to Tsikhanouskaya about the current state of the opposition, the release of political prisoners and what we can expect from the presidential election slated for next year in Belarus.

Philippe Sands: “Every person can do terrible things”
Nazi hunting
read time: 30 min
Philippe Sands: “Every person can do terrible things”

Literature helps us understand the act of justice. To overcome the traumas, inherited from victims or executioners, we need both literature and justice. Writer and international law expert Philippe Sands explains how he embarked on a real-life Nazi literary hunt and why it's still relevant today.

Ukraine attacked Russia with “ISIS’ hand”. The story of an FSB/ex-KGB branded narrative
Crocus: what the FSB understood
read time: 10 min
Ukraine attacked Russia with “ISIS’ hand”. The story of an FSB/ex-KGB branded narrative

Ukraine has been accused of being responsible for the terrorist attack in Moscow. Originally published on Telegram, the thesis was developed by Vladimir Putin and his close siloviki, the current and former head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov and Nikolai Patrushev, both ex-KGB, like Putin. The narrative rids the Russian authorities of all responsibility, plays well into the rhetoric about the Ukrainian-Western aggression and can be used to escalate the war. Arguments in its defense include falsehoods and an older conspiracy theory.

Zaiafet: How long can Ukraine resist against Russia?
Two years of war
read time: 1 min
Zaiafet: How long can Ukraine resist against Russia?

The time has come to talk a little more about what is happening in Ukraine, of course, but it has been 2 years since the dictator from the Kremlin decided to attack our neighbor. It's also 10 years since the war actually began, with little green men strategically transported across Crimea for a classic Russian-style liberation. After all this bitter time, the world is a little tired of war. You see, I must turn to another Russian criminal, Trotsky by name, and give you some bad news, quoting him You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.

Maia Sandu: We managed to free ourselves from Russian blackmail
Exclusive interview
read time: 1 min
Maia Sandu: We managed to free ourselves from Russian blackmail

The Republic of Moldova will join the EU by 2030, believes President Maia Sandu. In an exclusive interview, Maia Sandu also spoke about Russia's pressure on Moldova, her decision to run for a second term, but also about the war in Ukraine and the importance of supporting Kiev.

War in Ukraine: Odesa says goodbye to symbols of the Russian world.
Velicorous imperialism
read time: 1 min
War in Ukraine: Odesa says goodbye to symbols of the Russian world.

The south of Ukraine, which borders Romania along the Danube in the Odesa region, as the whole country, is going through a war. After the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the decolonization process has intensified here.

Andrei Soldatov: Putin's Russia, from CEKA to FSB
Putin's blacklist
read time: 1 min
Andrei Soldatov: Putin's Russia, from CEKA to FSB

Andrei Soldatov is an investigative journalist, one of the best experts on the Russian secret services, blacklisted by Putin's regime and forced to choose exile. The Romanian version of his book "Compatriots: The Brutal and Chaotic History of Exiles, Emigrants and Russian Agents Abroad" was recently published. A discussion of clandestine operations, active measures and political assassinations of the last century and the present.

Dan Stoenescu, Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria: “The situation in Ukraine is also affecting Syria”
Op-ed
read time: 19 min
Dan Stoenescu, Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria: “The situation in Ukraine is also affecting Syria”

Syria remains a country ravaged by conflict and a deep humanitarian crisis, a place of conflicting interests of multiple state and non-state actors, says the Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to Syria, Dan Stoenescu*. In an interview for TVR and Veridica, Dan Stoenescu explained that, although it doesn’t recognize the Assad regime, the EU keeps communication channels open in order to provide assistance to the Syrian people. The EU official also spoke about the link between the war in Syria and the one in Ukraine.