Sen. Warner Warns of Russian Election Interference

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Russia is making “egregious efforts” to interfere in elections worldwide, with Russia’s next “big test” to be over the next two weeks in the United Kingdom’s upcoming general election, according to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner.

“I think the next big test of the state of play will be the British elections in a few weeks,” the Virginia Democrat said Tuesday at a Christian Science Monitor event, adding that Russia’s movements will “ramp up dramatically,” The Independent reported.

Warner said Russia’s efforts to interfere in democratically held elections are similar to those that were alleged to have taken place in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

So far, there has not been much activity where the U.K. elections are concerned, Warner said, but as in the past, the activity grows as elections approach.

“Clearly, Russia does not like the fact that the UK has been as stalwart as they have been in terms of defense on Ukraine,” he said.

It would also benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin if he can “lessen the British or the Americans’ resolve for supporting Ukraine,” said Warner. “He can save some money on his tanks, guns, ships, and planes if he can diminish support.”

Warner’s warnings come about a month after the Westminster national security committee said Britain “must be prepared for the possibility of foreign interference” in the election.

Committee Chairwoman Dame Margaret Beckett told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a letter that the U.K. has experienced “a pattern of attempted foreign interference from countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea” in recent years.

Meanwhile, the British government has said it is “almost certain” Russia tried to interfere in the country’s general election in 2019.

Beckett said that the attacks this time could come through cyberattacks, exposing sensitive information about political candidates, spreading disinformation online, and capitalizing on controversial topics to sow division.

Warner noted Tuesday that the Internet Research Agency troll farm, which had been linked to late Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, was disbanded in July after his failed march on Moscow. However, he said there are still several groups still active that are linked to the Kremlin.

Warner also mentioned divisions over the defense of Ukraine, including comments made by Nigel Farage, who said his new Reform UK party “would like to see” Kyiv and Moscow negotiate.

Farage, who is close to former President Donald Trump, told reporters Tuesday that Trump would “push for these negotiations to happen and my guess is they would happen,” if he wins in November.