Latest news with #Russian-language
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Breaking down claim Trump was recruited by KGB with code name 'Krasnov'
In February 2025, Alnur Mussayev, a former Soviet and Kazakh security official, claimed in a Facebook post that U.S. President Donald Trump was recruited in 1987 by the KGB, the intelligence agency of the Soviet Union, and assigned the code name "Krasnov." In May 2025, Mussayev made another post furthering his allegations — that agents "affectionately called him [Trump] Danila Krasnov among themselves." Neither of Mussayev's posts stated state whether he personally recruited Trump or simply knew about the recruitment, nor did it state whether Trump actively participated in espionage or was just a potential asset. Trump did visit Moscow in 1987, but there is no clear evidence suggesting he was actively recruited by the KGB during that trip or at any other time. Mussayev's allegations that Trump was recruited by the KGB at that time don't line up with Mussayev's documented career path. Several biographies of him on Russian-language websites suggest that at the time Trump was supposedly recruited, Mussayev was working in the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs, not the KGB. Trump's pro-Russia stance (compared with other U.S. presidents) has fed into past allegations that he is a Russian asset — for instance, the 2021 book "American Kompromat" featured an interview with a former KGB spy who also claimed the agency recruited Trump as an asset. Again, however, there is no clear evidence supporting this claim. Throughout 2025, a rumor circulated online that U.S. President Donald Trump was recruited as an "asset" by Russian intelligence in the late 1980s and given the codename "Danila Krasnov," following allegations from a former Soviet and Kazakh security official, Alnur Mussayev. The claim initially spread on TikTok, Facebook and X in February 2025, where one account published a thread in response to the rumor, purporting to tie together evidence to support it (archived, archived, archived, archived, archived). (@anthony7andrews / X) That user wrote: "Now that it's been reveals that Trump has been a Russian asset for 40 years named Krasnov by the FSB, I will write a simple thread of various pieces of information that solidifies the truth of everything I've written." At the time of publishing this article, the thread had been viewed more than 10 million times. The claim gained traction when the news website The Daily Beast published a now-deleted story (archived), titled, "Former Intelligence Officer Claims KGB Recruited Trump," using only Mussayev's Facebook post as a source. The article described Mussayev's allegations as "unfounded." We contacted The Daily Beast to ask why the story was deleted and will update this story if we receive a response. We also reached out to Mussayev for comment on the story and will update if he responds. Meanwhile, Snopes readers wrote in and asked us whether the rumor that Trump was recruited to be a Russian asset was true. Here's what to know: The allegations originated from a Facebook post that Mussayev published on Feb. 20, 2025 (archived). The post alleged that in 1987, the KGB recruited a "40-year-old businessman from the USA, Donald Trump, nicknamed 'Krasnov.'" (Mussayev said without providing evidence that KGB agents "affectionately called him Danila Krasnov among themselves" in another Facebook post made in May 2025). Mussayev claimed he was serving in the KGB's Moscow-based Sixth Directorate at the time, and it was "the most important direction" of the department's work to recruit businessmen from "capitalist countries." His post didn't specify whether Trump participated in any spying, only that he was recruited. In an earlier post (archived) from July 18, 2018, he described Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin as follows: Based on my experience of operational work at the KGB-KNB, I can say for sure that Trump belongs to the category of perfectly recruited people. I have no doubt that Russia has a compromise on the President of the United States, that for many years the Kremlin promoted Trump to the position of President of the main world power. Trump did visit Moscow in 1987, reportedly to look at possible locations for luxury hotels. However, several Russian-language websites (of unknown trustworthiness) with short biographies of Mussayev revealed a discrepancy: While Mussayev claimed he worked in the Sixth Directorate of the KGB in 1987, those online biographies, including one from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, placed him in Kazakh KGB counterintelligence from 1979 until 1986, when he moved to the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is absolutely possible that the public timeline of Mussayev's work history was established by the KGB as a cover for more covert activities. At face value, however, information on Mussayev's background does not completely align with what he claims. Other sources corroborated that the Sixth Directorate's main focus was not foreign intelligence. The journalist and author W. Thomas Smith Jr.'s book "Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency" states that the directorate was responsible for "enforcing financial and trade laws, as well as guarding against economic espionage," in line with the counterintelligence descriptions present in the online biographies. Meanwhile, the First Chief Directorate was the KGB's main espionage arm. Trump's relatively pro-Russian positions compared with those of other U.S. presidents have led to past allegations that he is or was a Russian asset in some way. For instance, the controversial, flamboyant and untrustworthy Steele Dossier, released just before Trump took office in 2017, claimed Russia had incriminating tapes of Trump engaging in sexual activity with prostitutes in Moscow, among other scandalous accusations. CNN reported that the dossier's main source, Igor Danchenko, was mainly relaying "rumor and speculation," and in 2022 he was acquitted of charges of lying to the FBI about the dossier's sources. In the 2021 book "American Kompromat," journalist Craig Unger interviewed a former KGB spy, Yuri Shvets, who also alleged that Trump was compromised by Russia. Snopes previously covered that claim. The British newspaper The Guardian reported that Shvets had said Trump was "cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years." Shvets claimed Trump first appeared on the Russians' radar in 1977, when he was the target of a spying operation — 10 years before the recruitment alleged by Mussayev took place. Shvets said the KGB later went on a "charm offensive" when Trump visited Moscow and St. Petersburg for the first time in 1987 — the same year specified by Mussayev. Shvets told The Guardian that Trump proved so willing to spread anti-Western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow. We aren't aware of any evidence corroborating these claims. The Mueller report documented the official findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Trump's presidential campaign and the Kremlin. That investigation — which found that the Russian government did interfere in the 2016 presidential election "in sweeping and systemic fashion" and that there were "links" between Trump campaign officials and individuals with ties to the Russian government — did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government. Cohen, Marshall. "The Steele Dossier: A Reckoning | CNN Politics." CNN, 18 Nov. 2021, "Donald Trump's Russian Spy Connection: Social Media Explodes with 'Evidence' about #Krasnov. Is It Just Another Wild Conspiracy Theory?" The Economic Times, 23 Feb. 2025. The Economic Times - The Times of India, Former Intelligence Officer Alnur Mussayev Claims KGB Recruited Donald Trump Under Codename 'Krasnov.' 21 Feb. 2025, Kazakh Ex-Security Chief's False 'Trump KGB Recruitment Story' Gains Media Traction - The Times Of Central Asia. 24 Feb. 2025, Luczkiw, Stash. "'Trump Recruited as Moscow Asset,' Says Ex-KGB Spy Chief." Kyiv Post, 22 Feb. 2025, Muller, Robert. Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election. U.S. Department of Justice, Mar. 2019, No Label Defined. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. Palma, Bethania. "Did Ex-KGB Spy Say Russia Cultivated Trump as an 'Asset' for 40 Years?" Snopes, 2 Feb. 2021, Polantz, Katelyn. "How the FBI Attempted to Verify a Salacious Allegation in the Steele Dossier | CNN Politics." CNN, 9 Dec. 2019, Smith, David. "'The Perfect Target': Russia Cultivated Trump as Asset for 40 Years – Ex-KGB Spy." The Guardian, 29 Jan. 2021. The Guardian, Smith, W. Thomas, and W. Thomas Smith. Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency. Infobase Publishing, 2003. "The Daily Beast Publishes, Then Deletes Story Alleging Trump Was Recruited by Soviet Spies." Yahoo News, 22 Feb. 2025, Trump-Russia Steele Dossier Source Acquitted of Lying to FBI. 18 Oct. 2022. Unger, Craig. American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery. Penguin, 2021. Web Page Template. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. "Who Is Alnur Mussayev? The Former USSR KGB Officer at the Center of Explosive Donald Trump 'Russian Spy' Allegations." The Economic Times, 23 Feb. 2025. The Economic Times - The Times of India, "Мусаев, Альнур." Accessed 24 Feb. 2025. МУСАЕВ Альнур Альжапарович | ЦентрАзия. Accessed 24 Feb. 2025.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Russia court jails Russian-Italian man for 29 years over Ukraine-backed 'act of terror', RIA reports
MOSCOW (Reuters) -A Russian military court on Friday jailed a Russian-Italian man for 29 years after finding him guilty of various terrorism-related charges and of blowing up a freight train at Ukraine's behest, Russia's RIA state news agency reported. It said a military court in the western Russian city of Ryazan had ordered that Ruslan Sidiki serve nine years of his sentence in a prison and the rest in a maximum security prison camp. RIA cited Sidiki's lawyer as saying his client had partially admitted his guilt. Russian-language news outlets have in the past reported that Sidiki admitted his actions, but denied intent to harm anyone or acting on anyone else's orders. He viewed his actions as sabotage rather than terrorism and himself as a prisoner of war, those reports said. State prosecutors had accused Sidiki of using a home-made bomb to blow up a freight train in November 2023, causing 19 wagons to derail, and of a drone attack on an airbase earlier the same year. Russia's FSB security service said in a statement at the time that Sidiki had been recruited by Ukrainian military intelligence while in Istanbul in 2023 and had then received sabotage training in Latvia before returning to Russia. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Straits Times
Russia court jails Russian-Italian man for 29 years over Ukraine-backed 'act of terror', RIA reports
MOSCOW - A Russian military court on Friday jailed a Russian-Italian man for 29 years after finding him guilty of various terrorism-related charges and of blowing up a freight train at Ukraine's behest, Russia's RIA state news agency reported. It said a military court in the western Russian city of Ryazan had ordered that Ruslan Sidiki serve nine years of his sentence in a prison and the rest in a maximum security prison camp. RIA cited Sidiki's lawyer as saying his client had partially admitted his guilt. Russian-language news outlets have in the past reported that Sidiki admitted his actions, but denied intent to harm anyone or acting on anyone else's orders. He viewed his actions as sabotage rather than terrorism and himself as a prisoner of war, those reports said. State prosecutors had accused Sidiki of using a home-made bomb to blow up a freight train in November 2023, causing 19 wagons to derail, and of a drone attack on an airbase earlier the same year. Russia's FSB security service said in a statement at the time that Sidiki had been recruited by Ukrainian military intelligence while in Istanbul in 2023 and had then received sabotage training in Latvia before returning to Russia. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Local France
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Local France
Can you spot the 'fake news' about France?
France has become increasingly vocal about calling out Russian interference in the country which includes - but is not limited to - spreading fake news stories designed to paint France in a poor light. Sometimes these are outright falsehoods, and sometimes simply very exaggerated versions of something that has actually happened. Not all of these stories originate in Russia, but they have all been identified as being heavily amplified, especially on social media, by figures linked to Russia. But because news moves fast while tracking disinformation is a painstaking process, these stories often get picked up by respected media outlets outside France. In April the Centre gouvernemental de veille, d'alerte et de réponse aux attaques informatiques (CERT-FR) published a report accusing Russia of 'decades of cyberattacks' against France, ranging from hacking of public and private enterprises to spreading fake news. Here's a few examples of recent big news stories that have been identified as having a Russian link. Macron's cocaine train - FAKE En route for a visit to Ukraine with the British prime minister Keir Starmer and the German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron was photographed on a train having an informal meeting with his fellow leaders. Pictured on the table was a white object which Russian outlets claimed was a bag of cocaine. The Elysée said it was in fact a tissue , and went to the trouble of sharing a close-up version of the original image so that people could see for themselves. This didn't stop the avalanche of comment on social media, of course. A disinformation tracking service found that the rumour was actually started in France by far-right social media accounts, before it passed to Russian-language accounts and was picked up by senior officials in Moscow. US conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones, with the large audience he commands, helped amplify the message. READ ALSO: Tracking the disinfo on Macron's 'cocaine use' French bed bug horror - EXAGGERATED This began life an entirely legitimate news story in French media, reporting that Parisians had complained of being bitten by bed bugs in cinemas and on public transport. The cinemas and transport operator RATP pledged to investigate and take pest-control steps if necessary. Paris does, like most large cities, have something of a bed bug problem and there have been numerous reports over the last decade of infestations at locations including fancy hotels. Advertisement This time, however, the story exploded and was rapidly picked up by international media who were soon implying that the entire city was infested by bugs and warning people against visiting. Even the mayor of London waded in on the subject, while far-right figures linked the bug infestations to poor hygiene among immigrant populations (factcheck - bed bugs don't care about your country of origin or how often you wash). Some months later French intelligence services concluded that although the story began as a legitimate news item, the rapid spread and distortion was at least in part driven by Kremlin-linked figures. Europe Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told TF1 television: "The issue of bedbugs was artificially amplified on social networks by accounts that have been established to be of Russian inspiration or origin. "It was very largely amplified by accounts linked to the Kremlin," he added. Vomiting Olympic athletes - FAKE Olympic and Paralympic Games are always political - the host nation uses them to try and show their nation in the best possible light, while detractors play up problems. French ministers had warned in advance that they expected Russian fake news about the Games, and they were not disappointed. While some stories were real but exaggerated, one completely fake image was widely spread by Russian media. It showed an alleged front page of the French newspaper Libération with a photo of an athlete vomiting after completing the triathlon, alleging that their illness was caused by poor water quality. The idea of staging the triathlon in the River Seine was a risky one, and the event was postponed by 24 hours because the water quality was not good enough - but in the end it went ahead and no-one was poisoned . One athlete who did fall ill after competing later confirmed that she had been treated for an unrelated virus. The front page image was totally fake . Brigitte Macron is transgender - FAKE Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte has been the target of fake news from the moment he was elected in 2017, but the most persistent is that she was born a man named Jean-Michel (in fact Jean-Michel Trogneux is her brother). The lie has been pushed by French far-right figures but received an international boost in 2024 when a French conspiracy theorist decided to republish their posts on the subject in English. From there it was picked up by the US podcast host Joe Rogan and onwards into American and British media outlets. Although Russian accounts have enthusiastically shared these stories, the origin of this one appears to be home-grown. In 2024 Brigitte Macron won a court case against two women who had made a YouTube video promoting the fake claims. Advertisement Former US first lady Michelle Obama, ex US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris, New Zealand ex-premier Jacinda Ardern and Begoña Gómez (the wife of Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez) have also been the target of disinformation about their gender or sexuality in a bid to mock or humiliate them. Rioters released the zoo animals - FAKE This is a strangely durable piece of fake news that has occurred during several periods of social unrest in France - the allegation that rioters have released the animals from the Paris zoo and now there are lions and zebras roaming the streets of the capital. It's usually accompanied by realistic looking (but fake) photos or video. This resurfaced during the days of rioting that shook France in the summer of 2023. Although these rumours were easily disproved they were part of a tidal wave of disinformation that sloshed around during the week of social unrest that followed the death at the hands of police of a young man named Nahel. Advertisement The 2023 riots themselves obviously did happen - it was the worst period of social unrest in the country since the 2005 riots (which also followed deaths involving the police). They were very serious, and inspired blanket coverage in France and huge interest around the world, as you would expect. However they were also accompanied by sustained social media campaigns from British and American far-right figures (amplified by Russian accounts) using the hashtag 'France has Fallen' to link immigration to criminality and rioting. In fact, data from the courts showed that 90 percent of the rioters charged were French.
Techday NZ
22-05-2025
- Techday NZ
Cloudflare, Microsoft & police disrupt global malware service
Cloudflare, in partnership with Microsoft and international law enforcement, has helped dismantle the infrastructure supporting LummaC2, an information-stealing malware service regarded as a significant threat to users and organisations worldwide. This collaborative effort targeted key elements of the Lumma Stealer operation, resulting in the seizure, takedown and blocking of malicious domains, as well as disruption to digital marketplaces used by criminals to distribute and monetise stolen data. Cloudflare also banned a number of accounts used in the deployment and configuration of these domains, aiming to weaken the underlying ecosystem relied on by cybercriminals. Lumma Stealer, also known as LummaC2, operates as a subscription-based service that enables threat actors to access a central administrative panel through which they can acquire customised malware builds and retrieve data stolen from victims. Stolen information includes credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, cookies and various forms of sensitive data, which can subsequently facilitate identity theft, financial fraud and intrusions into both consumer and enterprise environments. Blake Darché, Head of Cloudforce One at Cloudflare, said: "Lumma goes into your web browser and harvests every single piece of information on your computer that could be used to access either dollars or accounts – with the victim profile being everyone, anywhere at any time. The threat actors behind the malware target hundreds of victims daily, grabbing anything they can get their hands on. This disruption worked to fully setback their operations by days, taking down a significant number of domain names, and ultimately blocking their ability to make money by committing cybercrime. While this effort threw a sizable wrench into the largest global infostealers infrastructure, like any threat actor, those behind Lumma will shift tactics and reemerge to bring their campaign back online." First observed on Russian-language crime forums in early 2023, Lumma Stealer's operations have increasingly shifted to Telegram, where cybercriminals buy access and share data using cryptocurrency. Logs of stolen credentials, known as "logs", are indexed and made available through Lumma's own marketplace or resold via other criminal networks. The spread of Lumma Stealer is primarily achieved through social engineering campaigns. These include deceptive pop-ups — part of a method called ClickFix — which trick users into executing malicious scripts, as well as by bundling payloads in cracked versions of legitimate software and distributing them via pay-per-install networks. The malware's developers invest in bypassing detection from antivirus solutions, increasing the risk to affected users and organisations. Cloudflare's disruption operations involved placing a Turnstile-enabled interstitial warning page on domains associated with Lumma's command and control servers as well as its marketplace. In addition to impeding access, Cloudflare collaborated with leading industry partners, including Microsoft, multiple registry authorities, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, Europol's European Cybercrime Center, and Japan's Cybercrime Control Center. This was intended to ensure that the criminals could not simply migrate their infrastructure or regain control via alternative registrars. The tactics used by Lumma's operators relied on abusing infrastructure belonging to providers like Cloudflare, often to obscure the origin IP addresses of servers used to store stolen data. Cloudflare's Trust and Safety team repeatedly suspended malicious accounts and flagged illicit domains, escalating countermeasures after the malware was observed bypassing its initial warning pages. Mitigation advice for users and organisations includes restricting the execution of unknown scripts, limiting the saving of passwords in browsers, and employing reputable endpoint protection tools capable of detecting credential theft. Regular software updates, DNS filtering and user education around the risks of malvertising and fake software installers are also highlighted as part of a comprehensive defence strategy. By disrupting Lumma Stealer's infrastructure and limiting access to its command and control services, the operation has imposed significant operational and financial constraints on both the core operators and the wider criminal clientele. The disruption aims to undermine the infostealer-as-a-service model that has contributed to increased instances of cyber-enabled fraud, enterprise security breaches, and ransomware incidents.
