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A large-scale pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign is targeting Armenia ahead of its parliamentary elections on 7 June, researchers say.

In total, 343 fake videos were published by early May, prompting analysts to describe the operation as one of the most extensive in recent years — second only to the campaign observed during Moldova's 2025 election.

According to researchers, the campaign began in early March and was part of "Matryoshka" — a pro-Kremlin disinformation operation that has increasingly used artificial intelligence.

Among the fabricated videos, a central narrative claims that a victory for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose campaign focuses on a pro-European direction, could trigger a war between Armenia and Russia.

The collective Antibot4Navalny, which studies bot networks, said it had identified more than a dozen fake videos featuring Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel Macron, which repeatedly promote the false claim that the two leaders struck a "secret deal": French backing in the election in exchange for Armenia launching a war against Russia after a victory.

[...]The election campaign has unfolded against a backdrop of growing cooperation between the EU and Armenia, highlighted by the first EU–Armenia summit held in the country in early May.

The election campaign has unfolded against a backdrop of growing cooperation between the EU and Armenia, highlighted by the first EU–Armenia summit held in the country in early May.

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