WASHINGTON (AP) — State Department spokesman Ned Price held a news briefing on Wednesday.
Watch the briefing in the player above.
On Tuesday, the State Department alleged in a newly released cable that Russia has covertly spent more than $300 million since 2014 to try to influence politicians and other officials in more than two dozen countries.
The cable released Tuesday cites a new intelligence assessment of Russia's global covert efforts to support policies and parties sympathetic to Moscow. The cable does not name specific Russian targets but says the U.S. is providing classified information to select individual countries.
It's the latest effort by the Biden administration to declassify intelligence about Moscow's military and political aims, dating back to ultimately correct assessments that Russia would launch a new war against Ukraine. Many of President Joe Biden's top national security officials have extensive experience countering Moscow and served in government when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched wide-ranging campaigns to influence the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections.
A senior administration official declined to say how much money Russia is believed to have spent in Ukraine, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top deputies have long accused Putin of meddling in domestic politics. The official noted allegations of Russian influence in recent elections in Albania, Bosnia and Montenegro, all Eastern European countries that have faced historical pressure from Moscow.
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Unlike declared 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 alleges. That includes think tanks in Europe and state-owned enterprises in Central America, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
The U.S. has in its history also covertly funded political groups and been responsible for efforts to topple or undermine foreign governments. The official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under rules set by the administration, rejected comparisons between Russia's activities and current U.S. financing of media and political initiatives.
Putin was spending huge sums "in an attempt to manipulate democracies from the inside," the official said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price called Russia's covert funding an "assault on sovereignty."
This is a developing story and will be updated.