Russia’s Covert Online Effort to Derail Ukraine Aid
Russia has stepped up the spread of online disinformation in an effort to derail US and European military funding for Ukraine, according to experts and intelligence estimates. The campaign is making heavy use of harder-to-detect technologies to bolster its pro-isolationist case ahead of the US election.
The stepped-up operations, conducted by aides to President Vladimir Putin and Russian military intelligence, come at a critical time in the U.S. debate over support for Ukraine. Russian operatives are laying the groundwork for a stronger push to support candidates who oppose aid to Ukraine or who call for the U.S. to withdraw from NATO and other alliances, U.S. officials and independent researchers say.
Researchers say companies working on the loosely-connected “Doppelgänger” network are creating fake versions of real news websites in the US, Israel, Germany and Japan, among other countries. U.S. officials note that their techniques make it particularly difficult to identify — and subpoena — Russian operations.
US intelligence agencies do not believe the Kremlin has begun its full influence drive. Putin will likely shift at some point from anti-Ukraine messaging to influence businesses that more directly support the candidacy of Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
Israel and Hezbollah exchange cross-border fire
Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel yesterday, killing at least one person. The Lebanese militia and political organization said the rockets were in retaliation for an Israeli attack that killed seven doctors in southern Lebanon.
For months, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire on the Israel-Lebanese border, displacing tens of thousands of people from their homes. The latest attacks come two days after the UN Security Council voted in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza. The Israeli air force continued a barrage of airstrikes and Hamas fighters continued to attack Israeli soldiers, a sign that the UN resolution failed to convince either side.
Monitoring in Gaza: Israel is using a previously unknown facial recognition program to collect and catalog the faces of Palestinians without their knowledge or consent, according to Israeli officials.
The White House has pledged to reopen the Port of Baltimore
The Biden administration yesterday pledged an aggressive effort to reopen the Port of Baltimore after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. But US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned of a “long and difficult road” to a full recovery, including rebuilding the bridge.
On the ground, investigators were examining data from an onboard recorder to help determine what caused the disaster, while officials tried to limit the economic impact of the disaster, which caused major disruption to shipping and global supply chains that likely would they waved for weeks.
The missing workers: Rescuers were still trying to retrieve the bodies of six workers. They are immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, according to consular authorities and a nonprofit organization.
The quintessential Stephen King
Stephen King’s first novel, ‘Carrie’, turns 50 this year. To mark the anniversary, we spoke to George RR Martin, Sissy Spacek, Tom Hanks, the Archbishop of Canterbury and more about the powerful impact that King’s work in their lives.
If you’re new to King, my colleagues at Book Review have compiled a list of his key works. One of my personal favorites is “On Writing,” which is something of a memoir as well as an instruction manual. For the scaredy-cats among us, there are even a few books on the list that won’t have you checking under the bed before bed.
