The City of Light has become a target for Moscow. Nuclear Target According to Russian propaganda chief Vladimir Solovyov, ahead of the official opening of the 33rd Olympic Games tomorrow, Paris has become the target of an aggressive attack from the Kremlin, and there are growing signs that it may act.
Banned by the International Olympic Committee Instead of participating as a nation, Russia turned to other asymmetric means of bringing gold back to the mainland after the invasion of Ukraine. On the surface, Vladimir Putin plays the victim, but strategically, privately he sees Paris as an opportunity to expand his hybrid war against the West.
Putin’s war on the Olympics began in typically Russian fashion. In June Microsoft reported The Kremlin is “intensifying its malicious disinformation campaign against France, French President Emmanuel Macron, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and this summer’s Olympics in Paris,” the report said.
Moscow has been using Cold War-era disinformation tactics against the Olympics, spreading false information with artificial intelligence packages. Two Russian players to watch, according to Microsoft, are Storm-1679 and Storm-1099.
Starting in 2023, they will begin targeting the Paris Olympics. Notable examples include: Fake Netflix documentary website The show, titled “The Olympics Are in Decline,” is a 2013 feature on theOlympus has fallen” Hollywood movies.
In Storm 1679’s version, Tom Cruise’s voice was a deepfake He narrated the documentary. According to Microsoft, Storm-1679 “parodied Netflix’s iconic opening scene and corporate branding, garnering fake five-star reviews from reputable media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and the BBC.”
The purpose of this and similar fake videos is to sow fears in Western countries that the Paris Olympics will become violent, on a scale that could be beyond belief. Kidnapping and murder Palestinian Israeli Olympic athlete Black September There were many terrorist attacks at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Funding, supplies and training Before the attacks in Germany, he conspired with Fatah to join Black September.
Many of the social media accounts associated with Storm 1679 have threatened to repeat attacks against Israelis in Paris. Importantly, Microsoft suspects but cannot confirm that other malicious actors may be involved. In our view, it is very likely that other actors are being amplified by bots and trolls from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Russia, including Iran.
Russian disinformation campaigns QR codes everywhere Redirecting unsuspecting viewers, Deepfake France 24 — France’s leading news television station.
Microsoft has previously charted Putin’s disinformation campaign, dividing it into two main phases: Phase I began in 2023 and Phase II in 2024. Involved “Contempt [the] The Paris Olympics saw “IOC scandals,” “allegations of mismanagement,” and “potential violence.”
Phase three may have been unveiled yesterday in Paris, signalling far more serious, if not athletic, intent. French officials arrested They arrested a 40-year-old Russian chef in the city center and accused him of having links to the FSB and leaking “intelligence to foreign powers.” [Russia] With the intent of inciting hostilities in France.”
France is taking growing cyber and physical threats seriously. The Games are expected to attract 11 million visitors, including 10,500 athletes competing for medals in 329 Olympic sports across northern and central Paris.
To secure the Olympic venue, France An unprecedented safe havenDescribed as an “anti-terrorism perimeter” by Paris police chief Laurent Nunez, the perimeter has sealed off much of the city since July 18. To enter the perimeter, individuals must pre-register online and “subject to background checks, known in France as ‘administrative checks.'”
QR code passes are being used to control entry to the zone and track people’s movements there, and facial recognition devices are also being used widely across Paris to track known criminals, foreign agents and possibly anyone holding a Russian passport.
But this high-tech approach to security is not without risks. CrowdStrike “Bug” Technology works until it doesn’t, and the Kremlin The misery of military failure On the Ukrainian battlefield, they are highly adept at conducting cyber, espionage and asymmetric warfare.
In addition, there is the possibility of security blunders occurring within the country. 2,000 Qatari security forces Doha will be sending troops to provide security for the Paris Olympics, despite its close ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Paris is on edge. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is in Paris to support the Israeli Olympic team, said: Getting off the plane Wednesday until the security threat is resolved.
The incident is a reminder that France, as well as Russia, must be wary of the threat from Putin’s Axis of Evil alliance, particularly Hamas and Hezbollah, who may try to hijack the Olympics to draw attention to their respective wars against Israel. Gaza Strip and South Lebanon.
Iran cannot be ignored either, especially as Tehran moves rapidly closer to nuclear development. Ready to earn now Iran needs to obtain warhead delivery technology from Moscow to fully weaponize its nuclear program. Fostering or supporting a kinetic or asymmetric crisis in Paris could provide a much-needed distraction from Iran’s nuclear ambitions at Natanz.
But for now, Putin remains Paris’ greatest threat — not in an existential sense, but as a defining cultural symbol: To weaken Paris is to weaken the West, especially since the City of Light represents all that culturally Putin seeks to destroy in a world war.
Will he expand on these efforts at the Olympics, especially as he desperately tries to extract concessions in Washington and Brussels that he couldn’t get on the battlefield in Ukraine?
There is a possibility.
Putin has spent so much time, effort, and Russian rubles trying to weaponize and wage war against the Paris Olympics over the past two-plus years that he is desperate to get something in return, but getting a fair return is not his style.
The Kremlin will steal whatever Putin wants — and Stealing an Olympic Gold MedalAfter all, this has long been a Russian specialty.
Mark TothHe writes about national security and foreign policy. Colonel Jonathan Sweet (Ret.)He served as a military intelligence officer for 30 years and led U.S. European Command’s Intelligence Division from 2012 to 2014.
