Vladimir Putin has turned Russian propaganda into information warfare. This weaponization of information presents itself in many guises, enabling and covering up the real loss of life. The most insidious example is Putin’s use of propaganda to try to shift blame for recent attacks with chemical weapons (CW). The Czech president, long described as Putin’s puppet in Europe, just launched a new attack in the propaganda war.
The CW attack in Britain against a former Russian agent and his daughter was seen throughout Europe as a warning message from Putin: Cross us, and we will kill you, no matter where you are and no matter how long it takes. There is no safe haven. The chemical used, Novichok, was created by Soviet CW labs, and its presence was clear evidence of Russian involvement in the attack.
The UK led the resulting outrage, with strong support from the Trump administration and NATO allies. Hundreds of Russian diplomats were expelled from dozens of countries. Putin’s minions tried to muddy the waters and shift the blame. They pointed fingers at Porton Down, the British lab that identified the Novichok (also known as A234). They suggested several other possible countries of origin for the Novichok, and even tried to recruit animal rights activists by talking about animal testing at Porton Down. The intent was to confuse, divide, and vitiate the opposition to Russian aggression.
Rhetorical Grenade in Information War
Their efforts failed, so they deployed Czech President Miloš Zeman. Once an honored statesman, Zeman has become an object of ridicule in Europe, a drunken clown who is a reliable mouthpiece for Putin. He threw a rhetorical grenade into NATO councils last week by releasing classified information suggesting that Novichok could have been manufactured in the Czech Republic.
Recently, the Czech Republic has become a model member of NATO. They expelled Russian diplomats after the Skripal poisoning, extradited the Russian hacker Yevgeny Nikulin to the U.S., and diplomatically supported airstrikes in Syria. These laudable acts proved that once again Czechs are stalwart allies.
The Czech national security community, especially the counterintelligence service (BIS) and military intelligence service (VZ) facilitated these acts. Rival intelligence agencies, they were united in their opposition to Russia. Zeman’s statement was aimed at causing division between the two services, and distrust of the Czechs among their allies.
CW Microproduction Allowed for Identification Drills
Twisting the words of a classified VZ report, and obscuring important differences in chemistry and purpose, Zeman announced that Novichok was produced in the Czech Republic. He claimed that the two intelligence agencies were at odds, with one denying any production of Novichok and the other “confirming” it.
Zeman glossed over the truth: Czech CW detection units manufactured a chemically similar analogue to Novichok (A230) in microscopic amounts, in order to train scientists to recognize its signature in mass spectrometry. Such “microproduction” is not considered CW production under international treaties, and the product is destroyed immediately upon analysis.
Russian Propaganda Goes Into High Gear
Zeman’s propaganda bomb empowered the Russian narrative that Novichok was produced outside of Russia. On cue, overt Russian propaganda began to amplify and praise Zeman. Putin’s spokesman petted Zeman by praising the eloquence of his remarks, hurriedly pointing out that his comments undermined British claims.
Simultaneously, Czech news outlets that are known tools of Russian propaganda began sowing discord and attacking the BIS and VZ. They amplified Zeman’s claim that there was a difference between the reports by the agencies. They attacked the agencies as incompetent. RT started shaming Prime Minister Babis for his earlier unequivocal condemnation of Russian attempts to pin Novichok on the Czechs.
Fortunately, the Putin-Zeman gambit failed to create infighting among the intelligence services and the Cabinet of Andrej Babis. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly clarified that the reports of the intelligence services were not contradictory in substance. The Czech Government “kept calm and carried on,” implementing its pro-Western policy.
There will be consequences for this failed malicious information operation aimed at our Czech allies. Every attempt by Putin is being met by the West with a harsher countermeasure. The weak Obama administration is gone, and a decisive Trump administration is in charge of foreign policy. U.S. national security is implemented by an experienced hawk that knows exactly how to counter Russian aggression.
The U.S. should speed up the investigation into the involvement of Zeman and his inner circle in the release of one of Operation Cassandra’s most wanted criminals, the Hezbollah- and Russia-linked arms dealer Ali Fayad. Likewise, our British allies should look into whether Zeman has been the beneficiary of any Russian funding in Britain. It’s time to put an end to Putin’s deadly games.
