Russia's Matryoshka bot network has launched disinformation campaigns targeting elections in Sweden, Germany, and France this month, fabricating video clips branded with the logos of trusted European media outlets, Sweden's national public broadcaster SVT reported. Analysts in multiple countries found the campaign aims not to reach mass audiences but to overwhelm newsrooms' fact-checking capacity.

Fake clips target Swedish PM weeks before the vote

Seven fabricated video clips appeared on the social media platform X within a single hour on 18 August. Among them were clips branded with the logos of SVT and the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Others hijacked the visual branding of Euronews and Germany's Der Spiegel. None were ever produced by these outlets.

The fake videos spread lies about election fraud in Sweden and directed false accusations at Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson personally. Sweden holds general elections on 13 September.

"We see this all over Europe. Russians target countries that support Ukraine," Kristersson told SVT.

Russian opposition analysis group Antibot4navalny linked the posts to Matryoshka, a pro-Russian influence campaign named after the Russian nesting doll.

Also known as Operation Overload and Storm-1679, Matryoshka was first exposed by Antibot4navalny in 2024 and is one of several Kremlin-linked disinformation networks alongside the Doppelgänger campaign and Storm-1516. A previous SVT review found the majority of Matryoshka's posts aimed to influence Western support for Ukraine.

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Campaign targets newsrooms, not audiences

The fabricated posts rarely get more than a few hundred or a few thousand genuine views, Antibot4navalny told SVT. Analysts say the campaign is not primarily designed to reach a large audience. Matryoshka operators actively push fabricated posts to journalists and fact-checkers, often disguising them as verification requests. A 2024 report by France's state anti-disinformation body Viginum suggested the campaign aims to distract and overload newsrooms' fact-checking resources through large volumes of targeted requests. In posts targeting Sweden, the network tagged the social media accounts of several outlets, including SVT and Dagens Nyheter.

The campaign may also seek to generate media coverage that amplifies its message or makes it appear more influential than it is, the think tank ISD assessed.

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Germany and France targeted the same month

On 12 August, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), warned that Matryoshka is targeting local and regional elections in Germany scheduled for September. In early August, France's Viginum detected a Matryoshka operation directed at presidential candidate Gabriel Attal ahead of the 2027 vote. French prosecutors opened a probe into the campaign on 18 August.

In April, the network promoted false claims of Ukraine's involvement in the assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump.

Concern over impact of Iran war pushes up government bond yields in US, UK, France, Germany and Japan

Government borrowing costs in several advanced economies hit their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, or even earlier, on Monday as investors feared the Middle East crisis would keep inflation persistently high.

Concerns over rising prices and government spending pushed up the cost of debt issued by Paris, Berlin, Washington DC, Tokyo and London as investors fretted that rising prices would push up interest rates.

Ukrainian gunners at one of the brigades rate one French howitzer above most of what they field. The French CAESAR self-propelled gun is one of the best in the Ukrainian arsenal, able to fire various munitions with long range and high accuracy, Major Denys Chmykhun of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade's self-propelled artillery battalion said in an interview with Ukrinform.

The praise is a frontline verdict on the Western artillery that has helped keep Ukraine in the fight. France has supplied Ukraine with CAESAR howitzers throughout the war, and the crews who fire them rate its range and precision highly valuable.

Why the crews rate it

Chmykhun described CAESAR as newer than other guns, and very mobile and maneuverable.

"CAESAR is now one of the best self-propelled systems in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Chmykhun said.

He wished Ukraine had fielded more of them sooner.

"If at the start of the full-scale war, when FPVs and Lancets were not yet used, there had been at least a few CAESAR battalions, it would have seriously affected the front line," the major noted.

The crews learned to repair it themselves

However, the gun's electronics are its weak point, but the crews adapted. The French system has a lot of electronics, and when it produced errors, crew members studied each one using an online translator and fixed them, Chmykhun explained. He added that the howitzer can be temperamental because it is not built for such intense combat.

Rather than pulling a finicky Western system off the line when its software faulted, the crews taught themselves to diagnose and clear the errors.

What it hunts

The CAESAR fires at everything the crews can find. It works against enemy personnel, drone-control points, landing pads, guns, mortars, and artillery, Chmykhun said, wherever its shells can reach.

He took particular satisfaction in counter-battery work. Destroying Russian guns, mostly 152mm, is gratifying because they trouble the Ukrainian infantry who assault, the major said.

"It's great when you hit precisely and understand that this gun is out of action, and somewhere, a field ammunition store starts to detonate. The enemy runs around, panic sets in, and it's pleasant to watch," he added.

[L'article En France, l’interdiction des réseaux sociaux aux moins de 15 ans a été jugée inconstitutionnelle  a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

France, Germany, and the UK are working to create a format representing Europe in talks over Russia’s war against Ukraine, The New York Times reported on 15 August, citing five European officials. Known collectively as the E3, the three countries would support Ukraine’s position and protect European interests in any settlement.

The initiative is Europe’s attempt to secure a place in talks the US is expected to lead. The three governments fear that Washington and Moscow could reach a deal without them, although Europe would have to enforce sanctions, decide how to use frozen Russian assets, and help protect Ukraine afterward. European officials also doubt Washington will stay committed to serious negotiations.

The officials expect Washington to lead negotiations with Moscow. The E3 wants to become the core group supporting Ukraine, following Kyiv’s request that it prepare for talks. France and Germany are shaping the position, while Britain fears damaging relations with Trump.

Poland, Italy, and the Nordic countries would be consulted, with the EU later involved. Some Baltic states and Hungary do not trust France and Germany to represent them. London called the discussion speculative.

The Coalition has rehearsed a force but not agreed to deploy it

The E3 forms the core of the Coalition of the Willing. At a 7 June meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, its leaders backed an immediate ceasefire and legally binding guarantees, including the deployment of a multinational force.

More than 600 British troops rehearsed with French paratroopers and an Italian platoon in February for a possible deployment. They could form the core of a 10,000-strong force pledged by London and Paris after a ceasefire.

Yet some members reportedly made Russia’s consent a condition for deploying troops, effectively giving Moscow a veto. Bulgaria has left, and Germany has not committed troops. The Coalition’s leadership is also shifting after Keir Starmer’s resignation and ahead of Emmanuel Macron’s departure in 2027.

Ukraine talks still misunderstand Russia's intentions

European officials see few signs that Vladimir Putin is ready for serious negotiations, the NYT reported. A separate EU attempt to open direct contact with Moscow divided member states.

Experts told Euromaidan Press that Russia uses peace processes to stall, press maximalist demands, and improve its battlefield position. Moscow also dismissed a Black Sea ceasefire proposal after Kyiv offered a mutual halt to attacks on civilian targets.

Ukraine’s partners risk mistaking Russia’s presence at talks for a willingness to compromise. Former Ukrainian diplomat Iuliia Osmolovska warned that Moscow also benefits from failed negotiations by exhausting Western governments until they pressure Kyiv to concede.

Before 2022, Russia signed 26 ceasefires in eastern Ukraine; none lasted more than two weeks. A pause can bank concessions, rotate troops, and let Moscow resume fighting from a stronger position.

Ukraine sent rescuers to help fight wildfires in France, and they returned from a first-of-its-kind mission. Workers of Ukraine's State Emergency Service (DSNS) have reached Ukraine from France, where they spent nearly two weeks helping to contain large forest fires, Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi announced.

The deployment was Ukraine's first mission to aid an EU member state under the bloc's own civil-protection system, with a combined unit of 70 rescuers and 15 pieces of special equipment, a role reversal for a country that has spent the war receiving European aid rather than sending it.

What the team did in France

The Ukrainians worked the fires alongside crews from several countries. Their work involved dozens of call-outs, hundreds of hectares of surveyed territory, and fire pockets that kept smoldering underground, Vyhivskyi says

With them, they took wartime methods to the work. The Ukrainian rescuers patrolled the forests, used drones to spot new ignitions, and contained the fire together with their colleagues. The days became shared work and shared experience, uniting rescuers from Ukraine, France, Slovakia, and other countries, with different languages but with one profession and goal. For the European emergency employees, it was a chance to grasp the unique experience they gained during the full-scale war.

The mission is a marker of Ukraine's changed role

Vyhivskyi says that every day, Ukraine's rescuers respond to the aftermath of Russian strikes dozens of times, working in extremely difficult conditions, but despite those challenges, Ukraine is always ready to lend a shoulder to its partners.

When Ukrainian and French forces fought wildfires together, the combined detachment deployed six water tankers on the ground, supported from the air by three French aircraft, two planes, and a helicopter.

During the mission, the Ukrainian rescuers discovered that local residents hang “thousand thanks” banner in recognition of their service.