Russia Targeting Ukraine-Supportive U.S. Candidates with AI-Driven Covert Influence Campaign

The Russian government has launched a covert online influence campaign to sway public opinion and undermine both Democratic and Republican candidates sympathetic to Ukraine ahead of the upcoming midterms, according to two senior congressional lawmakers.

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) and House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) briefed reporters following their review of a classified intelligence community report sent to congressional offices detailing foreign election interference.

Describing the digital interference efforts as “a carnival out there,” Himes said the operations are designed to generate “a sense of chaos and anarchy.” He added that Russian disinformation tactics span a broad range of topics, from sewing distrust in fundamental U.S. institutions to questioning the validity of voting machines.

Warner noted that the intelligence findings indicate Moscow is leveraging artificial intelligence tools to accelerate the spread of disinformation and target American voters with greater precision. While the lawmakers did not name specific political candidates targeted by the campaign, they emphasized that any politician expressing support for Ukraine—regardless of party affiliation—falls within Russia’s crosshairs.

Despite the sophisticated online manipulation efforts, the lawmakers stated that the U.S. intelligence community has uncovered no evidence that Russia has attempted to directly hack election infrastructure or political campaign networks.

U.S. intelligence agencies and international allies have repeatedly called out Moscow for historical interference activities. Russian intelligence officers were previously linked to cyber intrusions targeting the Democratic National Committee and the email accounts of campaign staff for 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, alongside widespread influence operations that year. Moscow was similarly accused of spreading election-related disinformation in both 2018 and 2024.

“In every election cycle since 2016, Russia has spread disinformation that has … gone against Democrats,” Warner said.

Beyond domestic contests, intelligence assessments indicate that Russian influence operations have targeted elections internationally, including recent electoral cycles in Georgia, Moldova, and France.

Concrete examples of these operations have begun to surface publicly. The information operations analysis firm Graphika released findings showing that Storm-1516, a Russia-linked influence group active since 2023, generated and disseminated deepfake videos on the social media platform X accusing Texas Senate candidate James Talarico of sexual assault. In a separate announcement last week, X reported the removal of more than 13,000 accounts tied to election-related disinformation campaigns originating from Russia, Iran, and China, noting that the networks targeted candidates and public figures across the political spectrum.

Spokespeople for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for further details on the classified report. Representatives for the Russian Embassy in Washington also did not respond to requests for comment regarding the allegations.

While Warner and Himes mentioned that the intelligence report also documented influence attempts by China and Iran, they highlighted Russia as the primary actor driving these extensive efforts.

The public disclosure of the classified report drew swift criticism from congressional Republicans. A spokesperson for House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) accused Warner and Himes of “cherry-picking” details for the press, characterizing the disclosure as “at best an egregious breach of trust which would have consequences for the employees of the intelligence community, and at worst a clear attempt to deceive the American people.” The spokesperson also criticized the Democratic lawmakers for focusing primarily on Russian actions while allegedly ignoring the activities of the Chinese Communist Party. A spokesperson for Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did not respond to requests for comment.

Amid the political friction, Himes noted that Crawford had organized a briefing on election threats for Intelligence Committee lawmakers last week, and Warner added that he and Cotton have collaborated in a bipartisan push demanding documents on intelligence-related policies from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The House Intelligence Committee is scheduled to hold another classified bipartisan briefing on election threats next week.