Interviews with Volgin and Shivikov found in Doppelganger network archive

Interviews with MEP Petar Volgin and retired Brigadier General Dimitar Shivikov appear in an archive used by the Moscow-backed disinformation network Doppelganger, reports the international investigative organisation, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), as cited by OFFNews. According to the investigation, the archive contains more than 500 interviews used in around 1,800 propaganda articles. These figures cover the entire archive, not just the Bulgarian interviewees.

What the interviews contain and how the two men responded

Volgin describes the European Union's position up to that point as “extremely anti-Russian” in excerpts from the investigation quoted by OFFNews. He also uses the phrase “general Russophobia”. According to Shivikov, financial and military support for Ukraine must stop. He also insists that relations with Moscow be restored and sanctions against Russia lifted.

According to the investigators, neither man responded to the request for comment sent to him. When subsequently contacted by OFFNews, Volgin and Shivikov said they had not yet read the article and expressed a willingness to respond after reading it. Their views were therefore sought in succession by two media organisations; this was not a blanket refusal to comment.

From imitating media outlets to running their own news websites

According to the investigation as presented by OFFNews, Doppelganger is a Moscow-backed network that spreads pro-Kremlin messages to weaken support for Ukraine. It became known in 2022 for websites imitating established media outlets, and later also began using its own websites presented as news publications. OFFNews reports that the interview archive was discovered following a cyberattack on one of the network's main websites.

In Flank's assessment, interviews with recognisable public figures can lend credibility to websites whose origins are opaque. When verifying such content, it is therefore important to establish not only whether the statements are authentic, but also who publishes them, how they are edited and where they are distributed. The number of articles alone does not indicate their audience size or political impact.

The interviews do not prove knowing participation

The investigation as presented by Bulgarian media outlet OFFNews does not make clear whether Volgin and Shivikov knew who ran the websites. The presence of their interviews in the archive and their stated opposition to sanctions or aid for Ukraine do not, in themselves, prove knowing participation in a coordinated operation.

Clarifying the case requires the full context of the conversations, the conditions under which they took place, any editorial changes and the two men's responses after reading the investigation. Their status as an MEP and a retired general gives their words public weight, but their personal views are not the position of the Bulgarian state or armed forces.