Documents reveal Russian hybrid operations in Europe: Plans for destabilization and massive disinformation

Documents have been made public that, according to investigative journalists, show that the Kremlin is coordinating large-scale hybrid operations in Europe, with the aim of discrediting Ukraine and fomenting political and social discord within European Union countries.

According to materials provided by journalists Delphi Estonia and distributed to the international investigative journalism network OCCRP, a structure called the “Agency for Social Design” – sanctioned by several states – is suspected of being used as an instrument for organizing and implementing such influence operations.

The documents suggest that the activities of this structure are not isolated, but directly linked to officials of the Russian presidential administration, raising questions about the level of state involvement in covert influence operations on European territory.

The published materials also describe the existence of a detailed planning for the period 2025–2026, which includes a number of scenarios for hybrid actions. Among them are possible symbolic and provocative incidents, such as the placement of pig heads near mosques in Paris, acts of desecration of the Holocaust Museum, as well as a scenario of damaging the monument to Charles de Gaulle, which would then be presented as an act of “Ukrainian nationalists.”

In addition to these elements, the documents also mention a project to spread disinformation regarding the alleged real estate assets of the President of Ukraine, which is described in internal materials as a campaign with high public influence potential.

The investigation, according to its authors, illustrates the vast scale and structured nature of Russian influence networks in Europe, which operate through a combination of propaganda, disinformation, and coordinated symbolic actions.

Security experts cited in the analysis warn that the involvement of actors recruited outside of Russia in information and destabilizing operations poses a long-term hybrid threat to European countries, requiring increased institutional vigilance and strengthening of control mechanisms against structures linked to foreign influence.

The GeoPost