Authorities in several countries say a Russian-backed “propaganda network” has been broken up to spread anti-Ukrainian stories and pay unnamed European politicians.
Researchers alleged that it used the popular website Voice of Europe as a means to pay politicians.
The Czech Republic and Poland said the network aimed to influence the European elections.
Voice of Europe did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
Czech media, citing the country’s intelligence service BIS, reported that politicians from Germany, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Hungary were paid by Voice of Europe to influence the upcoming European Parliament elections.
German newspaper Der Spiegel said the money was handed over in cash during secret meetings in Prague or through cryptocurrency exchanges.
The pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk is said to be behind the network, according to the Czech Republic.
Mr Medvedchuk was arrested shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but later transferred to Russia with about 50 prisoners of war in exchange for 215 Ukrainians.
Czech authorities also named Artyom Marchevsky, claiming he managed the website’s daily operations. Both men were sanctioned by the Czech authorities.
Polish intelligence said it had carried out searches in the Warsaw and Tychy regions and seized €48,500 (£41,500) and $36,000 (£28,500).
“Money from Moscow has been used to pay political actors who spread Russian propaganda,” BIS said in a statement.
It added that the amounts amounted to “millions” of Czech crowns (tens of thousands of pounds).
The alleged propaganda network “aimed to carry out activities against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” BIS said.
BIS has not named the politicians likely to be involved. However, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo claimed that members of the European Parliament were also among them.
“It came to light that Russia had approached MEPs, but also paid them [them]to promote Russian propaganda here,” De Croo told Belgian parliamentarians.
The Voice of Europe website was offline on Thursday. An archived version of the homepage showed several articles highlighting internal divisions within European countries and expressing skepticism about support for Ukraine.
These include: “Prague Protest: The People’s Voice Against Corruption, Military Support for Ukraine and the Government,” and “The Ukrainian Army Faces Growing Troop Shortages Amid Ongoing Challenges.”
Voice of Europe had more than 180,000 followers on Twitter/X. The publication did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
