Russian nationals among 4 people arrested in France over espionage investigation

PARIS (AP) – The leaders of a pro-Russia group in France behind a poster campaign declaring “Russia is not my enemy” have been taken into custody and are being held on suspicion of intelligence-gathering for a foreign power.

The SOS Donbass group confirmed the arrest of its founder, Anna Novikova, in a Telegram post. The group’s president, Vincent Perfetti, is also facing charges, his lawyer said. The Paris prosecutor’s office identified them on Wednesday only as Anna N. and Vincent P., saying that both are in detention.

The breakup of the alleged intelligence-gathering operation came as French President Emmanuel Macron warned about Russian destabilization efforts targeting France, a key backer of Ukraine in the nearly four-year war.

Macron said this week that Russia is waging “hybrid wars” against Europe, including by employing proxies.

“It pays people, mercenaries. It has pushed people to carry out destabilization activities in our countries,” he said.

In videos posted by SOS Donbass, Novikova and Perfetti have both promoted posters that are downloadable on the group’s website and which show a handshake in the Russian colors and the words, “Russia is not my enemy.”

The prosecutor’s office said that the pair face preliminary charges of criminal conspiracy, intelligence contacts with a foreign power and gathering information for a foreign power – crimes each punishable by up to 10 years in prison as well as large fines. It didn’t name the foreign power.

In a text message to The Associated Press, Perfetti’s lawyer called the accusations “absurd” and “a worrying shift toward the criminalization of pro-Russian opinions.”

“This isn’t an espionage case,” said the lawyer, David Bocobza. “It’s a case of poster-stickers.”

The SOS Donbass website says Novikova founded the group in 2022 after visiting the Donbas, the name that Russians use for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine that Moscow’s forces have largely occupied.

The organization describes itself as a humanitarian nongovernmental organization that collects funds and distributes aid to Donbas residents “who have been bombarded by the Ukrainian army with NATO weapons.” It also says that it wants to “build a bridge of peace between Europe and Russia.”

According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, Novikova is a 40-year-old French-Russian national who was born in Russia. It said the General Directorate of Internal Security, or DGSI, France’s domestic secret service that specializes in counterespionage, has been investigating her activities.

She is “suspected of having approached executives from various French companies in order to obtain information related to French economic interests,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

SOS Donbass said Novikova was arrested in Paris last week.

According to the Paris prosecutor’s office, two other men were also taken into custody. It identified them as Vyacheslav P. and Bernard F.

It said Vyacheslav P. is a 40-year-old Russian who is alleged to have fixed pro-Russia posters onto the Arc de Triomphe in September. The posters showed a Russian soldier and the words “say thank you to the victorious” Soviet soldier.

Vyacheslav P. faces preliminary charges of criminal conspiracy and property damage to serve a foreign power.

He remains in detention, was identified in video footage as being the person who stuck posters on the Paris landmark, and had contacts by phone with Novikova, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Preliminary charges of criminal conspiracy and intelligence contacts with a foreign power have been filed against Bernard F., a 58-year-old French national who isn’t in detention, but is barred from leaving France and must report weekly to authorities.

French government, intelligence and military officials say Russia has increasingly been targeting France with cyberattacks, disinformation and other destabilization efforts – tactics also employed against other countries backing Ukraine.

Mapping by the AP of the disruption campaign has documented dozens of incidents across Europe since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.