Foreign digital interference – Result of investigations into the Russian propaganda network Portal Kombat (15 February 2024)

On February 12, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné publicly revealed the discovery of a pro-Russian propaganda network called “Portal Kombat,” which was detected in the course of an investigation by the VIGINUM agency.

His disclosure was aimed at alerting the French public – as a precautionary measure – to the threat of disinformation disseminated by Russian actors ahead of the European elections.

Continuing its investigations into this scheme, VIGINUM highlighted the major role played by a Crimea-based Russian company, TigerWeb, in the creation and administration of the “Portal Kombat” network sites.

Established in 2015, TigerWeb is a web development company whose founder, Yevgeny Shevchenko, has been developing and maintaining websites since at least 2013. VIGINUM also noted that some of the operating methods and content disseminated have strong similarities with those of the Inforos network, which has been subject to EU sanctions since July 2023, making it possible to infer that TigerWeb could be serving as a service provider for Russian influence operators.

The latest technical information is available in a report published by VIGINUM yesterday evening.

France reiterates its strong condemnation of these practices and is sharing this information with its partners and civil society stakeholders with the aim of analyzing and characterizing these foreign interference operations and the manipulation of information. The purpose of VIGINUM’s reports is to openly share data in order to foster democratic debate on these threats.

None of these maneuvers are likely to undermine French support for Ukraine’s effort to defends its territorial integrity.