The Russian disinformation network known as Storm-1516 has been operating in the West since 2023, actively spreading false information and interfering in the political processes of foreign countries. It is believed that the group includes former employees of the so-called Yevgeny Prigozhin's troll factories, and the group itself has links with the Russian military intelligence service GRU. Storm-1516 is accused of interfering in elections in the United States, Germany and Hungary.
One of the group's most recent operations involved the publication of a fabricated BBC report that a stolen painting by Paul Cézanne had been spotted in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — which, like everything else published by Storm-1516, turned out to be a lie. Bloomberg published a detailed report on this group, describing it as Russia's most powerful weapon in the disinformation war. Meduza presents the most important findings from this investigation.
Storm-1516 spreads false stories, accusing politicians in Europe and the United States of corruption, election fraud, sexual violence and other crimes – using doctored videos, fake websites impersonating news portals, and anonymous bloggers with tens of thousands of followers. Bloomberg identified more than 190 fabricated stories the group has published online since August 2023.
Videos produced by Storm-1516 contain forged documents and false statements from alleged witnesses and victims, all following a similar pattern and often presented in the form of news reporting. Sound and image are processed using artificial intelligence.
Fabricated content mainly circulates on the X platform, but also appears on TikTok, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram. The account publishes the most false stories JohnnyMidnight on X, which has already published almost 60 Storm-1516 materials and has over 630,000. followers. The real owner of the account remains unknown. From February 2024, the user has a blue badge confirming a paid subscription, which increases the visibility of posts. After Bloomberg contacted X's management, the account was blocked — but reinstated a week later, with no comment from the platform.
Over 40 percent of all the false information produced by Storm-1516 is aimed at Ukraine, and another third concerns electoral processes in other countries. Many of these falsehoods concern Zelensky personally:
- allegedly had ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein;
- that Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenskaya spent $1.1 million. for jewelry and $4.5 million. for a sports Bugatti;
- that Zelensky has a Russian passport and an apartment in Moscow; and
- that he bought his mother an apartment in the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai for $3.2 million, which was then allegedly hit by an Iranian drone.
All these claims were debunked by journalistic fact-checking teams. Stories about Zelensky appear regularly, often monthly, sometimes even weekly.
Some of the false information spread by the Russian disinformation network was later repeated by well-known politicians. In November 2023, false news appeared that Zelensky's associates had bought two yachts worth $75 million. with money coming from Western military aid. Brokers involved in the sale of yachts denied these reports. Then-Senator JD Vance, now US vice president, publicly repeated this claim to explain his opposition to continued US support for Ukraine. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also spread this story.
According to two European intelligence officers who spoke to Bloomberg, Russia's global information war against the West is being overseen by Sergei Kiriyenko, first deputy head of the Russian Presidential Administration. Western officials believe Storm-1516 operates under the auspices of Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU. Ukrainian intelligence reports that the group's servers and artificial intelligence tools used to produce fake news were paid for by GRU Unit 29155 led by Oleg Kushnir, and Storm-1516 is coordinated by GRU officer Yuri Khoroshenko.
Content for the group may be created by the Foundation to Battle Injustice, a pseudo-human rights organization linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin and subject to European Union sanctions. The EU also believes that Storm-1516 is supported by John Mark Dougan, a former American policeman living in Russia since 2016. Western countries have also placed sanctions on philosopher and propagandist Alexander Dugin, who is believed to have coordinated the spread of fabricated Storm-1516 narratives.
In the first quarter of 2026, Storm-1516 members produced fake content twice as fast as in the same period last year. At the end of March and the beginning of April, materials appeared almost every day. Several dozen of them concerned Hungary, where parliamentary elections were underway. More than 25 materials referred to Armenia, where parliamentary elections are to be held in June. The group also fabricated content about French President Emmanuel Macron.
Storm-1516 attempted to interfere in the 2024 United States elections, as well as in the 2025 elections in Moldova and Germany. Bloomberg suggests that before the November elections to the US Congress, Russia will intensify its disinformation campaign to undermine Americans' trust in democratic institutions and the electoral process.
