The United States warns that Russia is trying to destabilize Javier Milei's government through its media propaganda

The State Department warned in a lengthy statement that Russia is seeking to destabilize several countries in Europe, Africa and North and South America, including the Argentine government, headed by libertarian leader Javier Milei.

According to Washington, Russia's state-run RT (formerly Russia Today) is no longer a mere propaganda outlet, but "a de facto arm of Russia's intelligence apparatus" that actively seeks to destabilize democratic countries while attempting to influence each other's domestic politics.

According to the State Department, through RT and its affiliates, Russia is seeking to influence countries by pushing narratives convenient to the Moscow regime. In turn, Russian state-funded media are employing intelligence tactics and front companies to hide their true role in the covert activities they conduct in order to destabilize democratic governments such as Argentina's.

"The Russian government is also engaged in operations meant to destabilize the government of Argentina and escalate tensions between Argentina and its neighbors. We expect that the Russian government will leverage RT, its affiliates, and its overall covert playbook in pursuit of these malign efforts," warned the State Department.

In addition to Argentina, Washington also charged that Russian intelligence is working closely with RT to directly influence Moldovan elections in October 2024 and generate violent protests in the event that a pro-Russian candidate does not win.

In light of these efforts, the State Department announced sanctions against three entities and two individuals, blocking their property and interests in the United States as a pressure mechanism to limit Russian influence on foreign electoral processes and the conflict in Ukraine.

The U.S. directly targeted Rossiya Segodnya, a Russian state broadcasting agency; TV-Novosti, a Russian state-funded organization that controls the media channel RT; and Ano Evraziya, a front entity involved in an influence scheme in Moldova that moved money to buy votes and support pro-Russian candidates.

Meanwhile, the two individuals sanctioned are Dmitry Konstantinovich Kiselev, CEO of Rossiya Segodnya since 2013; and Nelli Alekseyevna Parutenko, CEO of Ano Evraziya.

Washington also detailed in the statement that while it respects freedom of speech, it will not tolerate Russian state efforts to intervene in the domestic politics of other countries through covert operations.

"The United States supports the free flow of information. We are not taking action against these entities and individuals for the content of their reporting, or even the disinformation they create and spread publicly. We are taking action against them for their covert influence activities. Covert influence activities are not journalism," the statement reads.