(LibertySons.org) – US intelligence agencies have released their Annual Threat Assessment. The 40-page document includes details regarding Russia’s use of malign influence operations during the 2022 midterm elections and the increasing use of clandestine means to spread information that favors its agenda. Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, approved the report, which explained that Moscow sees elections in the US as “opportunities for malign influence as part of its larger foreign policy strategy.”
According to the assessment, Russia has spent decades conducting “influence operations against US elections” and will continue to attempt to forge relationships with Americans “in the media and politics” to create potential vectors for “future influence operations.”
The assessment warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government presents one of America’s most significant foreign influence threats. The report explained Russia uses the resources at its disposal as it attempts to dismantle relationships in the West while also attempting to erode America’s global standing and create division inside the US. The report stated that Moscow is good at utilizing what’s happening in the US to push its narrative in Western societies.
US Intel: Russia Tried to Sway '22 Elections https://t.co/6yX7eW6ph8 via @newsmax
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) March 8, 2023
Concerns about Russian influence on the 2022 elections were not as strong as after the 2016 elections. A previous special counsel report documented widespread efforts by the Russian government to interfere in the presidential election, in particular, that year.
Putin reportedly initiated an influence operation during the 2016 campaign cycle, exhibiting a partly disdain for the then-Democratic nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to American intelligence. In contrast to the two previous presidential election cycles, worries over Russian efforts to sway the 2022 polls were, however, less intense.
The study emphasized how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has further strained its already poor relations with the US and other Western nations. Russia, which has the most extensive nuclear arsenal in the world, is continuing to build long-range nuclear-capable missiles and adding to its stockpile, the intelligence community said.
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