The cable, signed by Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken and released on Tuesday, refers to a new intelligence assessment of Russia’s global covert efforts to support Moscow-friendly policies and parties. The cable does not name specific Russian targets, but says the US is providing classified information to selected individual countries. It is the latest effort by the Biden administration to declassify information about Moscow’s military and political goals, dating back to ultimately correct assessments that Russia would launch another war against Ukraine. Many of Joe Biden’s top national security officials have extensive experience dealing with Moscow and served in the administration when Vladimir Putin launched extensive campaigns to influence the 2016 and 2020 US presidential elections. A senior government official declined to say how much money Russia is believed to have spent in Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top lawmakers have long accused Putin of meddling in domestic politics. The official noted allegations of Russian influence in recent elections in Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro. Contrary to overt efforts by foreign governments to lobby for preferred initiatives, Russia’s covert influence involved using front organizations to funnel money to preferred causes or politicians, the cable claims. This includes think tanks in Europe and state-owned enterprises in Central America, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Historically, the US has also covertly funded political groups and been responsible for efforts to overthrow or undermine foreign governments. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity under government-set rules, rejected comparisons between Russia’s activities and current U.S. funding of media and political initiatives. Putin was spending huge sums “in an attempt to manipulate democracies from within,” the official said. State Department spokesman Ned Price called Russia’s secret funding an “assault on sovereignty.” “It’s an attempt to eliminate the ability of people around the world to choose the governments they think are best suited to represent them, to represent their interests and to represent their values,” he said. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department took the unusual step of releasing a diplomatic cable sent Monday to several US embassies and consulates abroad, many of them in Europe, Africa and south Asia, outlining the concerns. The cable, which was marked “sensitive” and not intended for a foreign audience but was not classified, contained a series of talking points that US diplomats were instructed to raise with their host governments regarding alleged Russian interference. The steps diplomats said they would recommend include sanctions, travel bans and exposure of covert funding. According to the cable, intelligence officials believe Russia planned to transfer “at least hundreds of millions more” dollars in funding to sympathetic parties and officials around the world. The cable does not say how Secret Service officials arrived at the $300 million total. It also does not address concerns that Russia or other adversaries might again try to interfere in US politics. Official news reporters noted that Biden had recently extended a national emergency declaration to address the ongoing threat of foreign interference in the election. “We are promoting coordination with our democratic counterparts,” the official said. “And we’ll share lessons learned, all to advance our collective election security, but also our election security here at home.”
