Dragan Stanojevic, a Serbian right-wing politician who has openly supported Russian President Vladimir Putin, celebrated Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and mocked Western punitive measures against Russia, was among various peripheral European figures featured and interviewed by Voice of Europe.
Recently, Czech authorities shut down the operation after it was accused of disseminating fake news and financing politicians who support Russian objectives. On March 27, Prague imposed sanctions on Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian magnate with significant Kremlin connections, and his associate, Artem Marchevskiy, for their involvement in financing Voice of Europe. The platform provided a voice through its website and YouTube channel to EU lawmakers, particularly those representing extreme political views, aiming to sway the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.
Czech officials report that Voice of Europe employed an unspecified number of pro-Kremlin European politicians, although the details remain unclear. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Balkan Service has discovered that Stanojevic was interviewed by Voice of Europe in January, following his right-wing populist party, We — The Voice From The People, achieving unexpected success in local and national elections in Serbia.
Stanojevic mentioned in a statement to RFE/RL that he could not remember specific details about the interview. “During that period, I received numerous calls from journalists, and I recall that this team visited Belgrade. I discussed Serbia’s potential as a strategic link between Brussels and Moscow,” he explained.
