The Polish government has identified a Russian disinformation campaign aiming to influence the upcoming May presidential election. This group, linked to the GRU, is spreading false information to fracture Poland’s political cohesion. Daily disinformation incidents number in the thousands, prompting hundreds of security interventions. A comprehensive counter-disinformation plan will be unveiled later this month to protect the election process, as Poland contends with what it describes as a “warm cyberwar” from Russia.
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A joint investigation by The Insider and Der Spiegel reveals that the Russian GRU, between 2016 and 2019, allegedly paid Taliban and other militant groups up to $200,000 per US/coalition soldier killed, totaling an estimated $30 million. The scheme utilized a network of Afghan couriers, operating under the guise of a gemstone trading company, to distribute funds coordinated by GRU officers like Alexey Arkhipov and overseen by Lieutenant General Ivan Kasyanenko. Key figures such as Rahmatullah Azizi, a central operative, relocated to Russia after the operation’s exposure. These payments fueled attacks against coalition forces, with the investigation highlighting hindered official inquiries and US reluctance to acknowledge the program’s existence.
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The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated the IRGC’s Cognitive Design Production Center (CDPC) and the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE), along with its director Valery Korovin, for election interference. These entities, acting as affiliates of the IRGC and GRU respectively, engaged in disinformation campaigns and influence operations aimed at disrupting the 2024 U.S. election. The sanctions build upon previous actions targeting Iranian and Russian interference and utilize Executive Order 13848, the U.S. election interference authority, among others. These designations freeze U.S. assets and prohibit transactions with the named entities and individuals.
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The UK government believes Vladimir Putin ordered the Salisbury nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal due to Skripal’s possession of information about Putin’s alleged embezzlement of profits from metals production. A leading intelligence official accepted Skripal’s assertion that this information was the motive, citing Skripal’s GRU background and the pervasive corruption within the Russian government. The inquiry heard that Foreign Office experts deemed Putin’s direct involvement likely given the audacious nature of the attack. While Putin dismissed Skripal as a traitor and downplayed the poisoning of Dawn Sturgess, the intelligence official characterized Putin’s comments as callous and dismissive.
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Just Eat Takeaway, the European meal delivery giant, is selling its US subsidiary Grubhub to Wonder, a restaurant chain led by former Walmart executive Marc Lore, for $650 million. This divestiture comes four years after Just Eat acquired Grubhub for $7.3 billion, seeking to expand its reach into the lucrative US market. The sale marks a retreat for Just Eat, which faced pressure from investors following the decline in pandemic-fueled food delivery demand. Just Eat believes the deal will accelerate its growth and provide Grubhub with a suitable future under Wonder’s leadership. The transaction is expected to close in early 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
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John Q. Hosedrinker