Austrian authorities said today they had uncovered a "Russian project aimed at spreading disinformation about Ukraine" after a Bulgarian woman was detained in the country in December on suspicion of spying for Moscow.
Austrian intelligence found evidence of the operation while analyzing devices found in a search of the suspect's home, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The investigation is said to have shown that a few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, a group of people working for Russian intelligence was established and planned a major disinformation campaign in German-speaking countries.
The Bulgarian suspect, whose name has not been released, is believed to have played a significant role in the group's actions and acted as an intelligence contact, the ministry said, adding that she had pleaded guilty.
The biggest spy scandal in Austria in decades erupted a year ago with the arrest of a former intelligence officer, who was accused, among other things, of handing over mobile phone data of former senior Austrian officials to Russian intelligence and helping to plan a break-in at the apartment of a well-known journalist.
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