Russia has launched more than 200 fake news sites targeting France this year, with over 140 designed to clone real French media outlets and twist genuine stories with Kremlin-friendly messaging, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation.
The watchdog links the network to Storm-1516, also known as Doppelgänger - a long-running influence operation tied to American-born propagandist John Mark Dougan, who has lived in Moscow since 2016.
The sites churn out AI-generated articles crafted to resemble local French reporting, helping fabricated narratives blend into online conversations with a veneer of credibility.
The target: undermine President Emmanuel Macron and erode public trust in French institutions ahead of the 2026 municipal elections.
🔗Read more: https://t.co/fjjGP3EJvU
For those who think the russia’s war started in 2022.
2014: "Fire a salvo at the Ukrop village! Destroy the faggots!" - the russian army shells a Ukrainian village.
On this day, 31 years ago, Ukraine signed the Budapest Memorandum. Under this agreement, Ukraine relinquished the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in exchange for security assurances from the United States, the United Kingdom, and russia.
Before the Memorandum was signed, renowned political scientist and international relations scholar John Mearsheimer warned that Ukraine should keep its nuclear weapons. He argued that this was the most effective way to prevent a future russian-Ukrainian war, describing such a war as a potential “catastrophe” that could lead to repeated conquest of Ukraine and “undermine peace across all of Europe.”
Despite these warnings, Ukraine was pressured by the US into signing the Budapest Memorandum and dismantling its nuclear arsenal. As part of the agreement, Ukraine destroyed its fleet of long-range strategic bombers and transferred more than 1,000 cruise missiles. The United States even assisted in destroying Ukraine’s bomber fleet.
In return, Ukraine received “security assurances” from the US, the UK, and russia.
Russia, of course, has brutally violated these assurances along with dozens of other treaties. In fact, the same missiles Ukraine surrendered to russia are now being used against Ukrainian cities.
And now, instead of honoring those commitments, the United States is pressuring Ukraine to surrender its own land to the aggressor — offering another set of “assurances” that will collapse the moment they are tested.
Budapest was a historic mistake. Repeating it today would not bring peace — it would pave the road to the next, even bloodier war.
A father cradles coffin with his child killed in a Russian missile strike in Ternopil, before burial
In the same week, Washington handed Kyiv "peace plan," reportedly warning: accept it, or the US may cut weapons that could stop next strike
🎥 Sternenko
https://t.co/4zziCEZTxS
I often had thoughts..why? Why have my country and my people been haunted by enemies and ill-wishers for centuries? Why do they want to conquer it... destroy it... destroy our culture, language, identity. My people have survived a lot: wars, famines and genocides, repressions... and despite all this, they are alive! My people have not lost their spirit to be free. Ukrainians have not lost faith and hope that one day we will be able to live peacefully, happily and calmly on our land, build our future and the future of our children. But even now, russian terrorists, like their ancestors, haunt us...
And thinking about this, I remembered a parable that my grandfather once told me.
This is very close to an analogy with why Russian terrorists attacked Ukraine and not other countries of the former USSR.
Have you ever seen a bird hunter? Then tell me: does a hunter run after a shot bird? No, he’s hunting for others, but he doesn’t touch those that he’s already shot, he knows that they’re already in his hands.” So now, the enemies of “freedom” hunt only those who fly, who strive to be free and live freely. But they do not kill those who are already in their hands. They don’t touch them - they know that they are all already in their hands.
Almost all countries of the former USSR remained puppets of russia ("birds" that have already been shot and are in their hands). And only Ukraine, which truly decided to be part of Europe... part of the free and democratic world, became a bone in the throat for the Russian imperialists who want to restore their evil empire. Both then and now they simply could not forgive the Ukrainians for this... the fact that they do not want to be their slaves and puppets.
Ukrainians will always be free people. And neither external hyenas and enemies, nor internal nits can change this and prevent them from remaining free.
Russians and German Nazis were allies and started World War 2 by invading Poland together in September 1939. On May 9th, Russia will continue the cover up of this history during the annual military parade by pretending to have saved the world from Nazism.
@americanmama@BuzzPatterson And as a Ukrainian American🇺🇦🇺🇸 I was proud to see my country fulfill its promise (see Budapest memorandum) and finally get this done so more Ukrainians dont have to die at the hands of the Putin regime!!
@DrakeSadron@Doms_Docs@Kasparov63 Look up the Budapest memorandum. Ukraine gave up their nukes in return for protection from the US and that Russia would not invade. They should have never given them up!
Since President George HW Bush's 1991 "Chicken Kyiv" speech, we have evidence of more than 30 years of elite American Republicans and Democrats working to disarm and discourage Ukraine.
As attention turns today to Congress's Ukraine vote, I look at how bipartisan Washington elites have worked to ensure that free people are unarmed. But there's always a chance to change ...
Ukraine is the story of people resisting tyranny in all of its forms, from corporate to political.
— from Joe Lindsley, the only American reporting from Ukraine every day of Russia's full-scale invasion.