A Prague-based news website backed by two pro-Russia businessmen has been covertly paying hard-right politicians in European countries including Germany and France to turn public opinion against support for Ukraine, an investigation led by the Czech government has revealed.
Petr Fiala, the prime minister, said on Wednesday that Voice of Europe and two pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politicians backing it — Victor Medvedchuk, a personal friend of Vladimir Putin, and Artem Marchevsky — had been placed on a national sanctions list that will make it impossible for the site to keep operating from the Czech Republic.
“We were able to uncover the activities of a Russian-financed influence network in the Czech Republic,” Fiala told a press conference, saying its aim was to influence politics in European countries
