In a statement released on the eve before the election, U.S. Intelligence agencies predicted that Russia would intensify its efforts to undermine the U.S. election on election day. They would focus on swing states.
On Nov. 5, U.S. voters will head to the polls to choose between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“Since Friday’s statement, the IC (Intelligence Community), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the FBI have been observing foreign adversaries (particularly Russia) conducting additional influence operations to undermine public trust in the integrity of U.S. election and stoke divides among Americans,” a joint statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the FBI read.
The IC expects that these activities will intensify up until election day and the following weeks, and will focus on foreign influence narratives in swing states.
U.S. intelligence warned previously that Russia was seeking to undermine the Democratic ticket through spreading disinformation online.
In their most recent statement, they said that “Russian Influence Actors” had recently amplified a false article accusing U.S. officials planning an electoral fraud in swing states.
Pro-Russian actors reportedly also posted a video that falsely depicted a plot involving fake ballots from overseas and changing voter lists to favor Harris.
In a second example reported on the same day, a pro Trump online influencer who goes by the handle of @AlphaFox78 told CNN that he had been paid $100 by pro Russian propagandist Simeon Boukov to post fake videos showing Haitian immigrants claiming they were voting.
The Georgia Secretary for State stated that the videos were entirely fake.
U.S. Intelligence also accused Iran of “malicious” cyber activities aimed at undermining Trump’s campaign.
The election results can have a profound effect on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While Harris pledged that she would continue to support Ukraine in its fight, there is fear that Trump will seek to cut a bargain with Moscow even if it means painful concessions from Ukraine’s part.
Bloomberg reported that the United Kingdom was unable to retrieve weapons from floating armories, which offered weapons and accommodation to guards protecting Russian oil tankers.
According to reports, Russian forces targeted an infrastructure facility and started a fire. The full extent of the damage is still being determined.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said: “She is not the president of her own country, as far we understand. The majority of the population in her country did not vote for [her].
Politico reported that the European Union’s antifraud agency has opened an investigation into possible exports of rebranded Russian crude oil via Turkey to the EU. The report was based on two unnamed sources.
Ukrinform reported that the recruitment center for the Ukrainian Legion in Poland had received more than 500 applications from Ukrainians in 30 different countries in just one month, citing officials at the center.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on November 4 that the country aims to limit voting eligibility for local elections in order to exclude Russians and Belarusians in order to counter Russian influences.
Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, the authors of this complaint, said that the ruling set a precedent to better protect voting secrecy.
Overnight, Russia launched 79 drones of the type Shahed and other drones as well as guided bombs as well as two Kh-59/69 air missiles.
The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reported separately on Nov. 4 that Russia may be behind the dispatch of flammable packages via freight planes in Europe as preparations for similar operations to take place in North America.
Krzysztof Gawakowski, Polish Deputy Premier, said that Zelensky wanted Poland to fire missiles over Ukraine. This meant he wanted Poland to join the war.
The renaming was prompted by “changes in geopolitical reality,” such as the “obvious degradation of multilateral collaboration structures in Europe,” said Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian state-owned news agency RBK.
The Russian forces have suffered 1,260 casualties in the last day alone.
On Nov. 4, thousands of opposition supporters protested outside Georgia’s Parliament for the second consecutive week, claiming that the election on Oct. 26 was rigged by Russians to favor the ruling Georgian Dream Party.
Denys Shmyhal, the Prime Minister, announced on November 4 that Ukraine had signed agreements with the World Bank for nearly $600m under the “Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Enterprise (RISE)” project.
Slovak media reported on November 3 that Peter Pellegrini, the President of Slovakia, had recently rejected four requests by Slovaks who wanted to join Ukraine’s armed force.
Throughout the campaign Russia was accused of spreading false claims about a variety of topics surrounding the elections, including disinformation regarding the candidates and election safety.
On November 4, Choe Son Hui, the North Korean foreign minister, met with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president in Moscow as Choe continues his state visit to Russia.
During her visit to Kyiv, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Bärbock announced that Germany will provide 200 millions euros ($217million) in winter humanitarian aid as Ukraine prepares itself for more Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Annalena Bärbock, the German Foreign Minister, said that she was arriving in Ukraine and that “we are fighting this brutality by our humanity and support so that Ukrainians not only survive winter but that their country can also survive.”
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