Kremlin-run bot network uses spoof websites to spread articles on “catastrophe” awaiting Europe after U.S. cuts aid to Kyiv

Doppelgänger is the codename for a Kremlin-led foreign influence campaign, which involves the creation of fake news websites and inauthentic social media accounts. These platforms spread false or distorted information in multiple languages in furtherance of the interests of the Russian government and Moscow’s intelligence agencies.

The campaign has frequently targeted Ukrainian politicians and regularly employs narratives related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For instance, in late 2023, hundreds of fake accounts on Twitter (X) and other social media platforms began spreading quotes critical of the war and of Western financial aid to Ukraine. Some of these posts used images of celebrities like Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Angelina Jolie, and Cristiano Ronaldo, falsely claiming that these figures had spoken out against aid to Ukraine and against President Volodymyr Zelensky.

German investigative outlet Correctiv exposed direct links between the Doppelgänger campaign and the Russian government. Their investigation revealed that one of the IP addresses used by operators of the disinformation campaign was connected to an employee of the Main Communications Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Information Processing Center.

The IP address was part of the network of “Voentelecom” — a virtual mobile operator jointly created by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian telecom provider T2.

Correctiv’s earlier findings revealed that European companies were involved in supporting the Kremlin's Doppelgänger bot network, but that they gradually ceased providing services for the propaganda campaign. Two Russian entities behind the campaign — the companies “Struktura” and “Social Design Agency” — have been under EU sanctions since mid-2023.

One of Doppelgänger’s disinformation attacks was investigated by French authorities. In early 2024, they determined that sanctioned European IT companies “National Technologies” and the “Social Design Agency” (SDA) had been responsible for republishing massive amounts of false stories sourced to pro-Kremlin entities. The ultimate owner of National Technologies LLC is Rostec — Russia’s sprawling state-owned defense corporation, led by former KGB agent and close Putin associate Sergey Chemezov.

The bots also promoted the EuroBRICS website, which has proven links to the GRU's Special Service Center (Military Unit 54777) — the agency’s psychological operations unit. In July 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions against those involved in the misinformation campaign. The list included the above-mentioned National Technologies and Social Design Agency, as well as several officers from GRU Unit 54777.