Two Spanish activists backing Vladimir Putin’s regime have been named on a scope list of 34 collaborators from various nationalities involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The list advocates for legal warnings, sanctions, and visa restrictions from the United States, the European Union, and their governments.
Accusations center on 34 individuals associated with the Center for Democratic Integrity, a Vienna-based think tank described as a strategic analysis office. The group participated in Moscow’s propaganda campaign as so-called non-Russian international observers, aimed at legitimizing elections held by Moscow in Ukrainian territory occupied between 8 and 10 September.
Enrique Refoyo and Fernando Moragón were both active in far-right circles. They are known for speeches, debates, appearances on webTV programs, and campaigns favoring pro-Russian, anti-EU, and anti-NATO positions during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Since 2014, after the Crimea occupation, Moscow has intensified its efforts in interference, propaganda, and disinformation in Western countries, forging ties with European far-right groups that echo these narratives across networks.
While Refoyo and Moragón endorsed Russian elections in Ukraine, a Russian rocket strike killed an aid worker nearby on the 10th. The attack was condemned as a war crime by the Spanish government, which urged a court in The Hague to investigate the tragedy involving a young Catalan translator and activist.
Elections Are Claimed to Be Under Control
The electoral process supported by Refoyo and Moragón is described as ongoing, with voting events continuing in Russia in 4,000 regional positions across 85 districts of the federation. This year, the Russian government extended its borders to include territories it occupies, citing Crimea and Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk), as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Spaniards Enrique Refoyo and Fernando Moragón were photographed in Moscow on the 12th with Sputnik journalist Victor Temovsky, sharing a moment captured on his Telegram channel. The image has been referenced in discussions about their involvement.
Refoyo has emerged as a translator and propagator of Eurasianist geostrategy in Spain, drawing on the ideas of a notable ultranationalist figure associated with Putin. The closest ideologue to Putin in this circle has advocated views on Western corruption, social conservatism, and the concept of Russia as a successor to historic empires. Refoyo previously contributed to an ultra-left or neo-fascist media outlet and later spoke on geostrategic topics supported by far-right formations. The Russian embassy acknowledged him as a co-organizer of a street march connected to commemorations of World War II in Madrid.
The other Spaniard on the list, Moragón, reportedly held a position in a small Eurasia-focused observatory and collaborated with a pro-Kremlin online channel aimed at expanding its audience after the invasion began. Reports also note connections to online platforms that amplify pro-Kremlin messages.
On August 28, an advertisement called for desertion by Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the counter-offensive led by Kyiv.
Blame
Both activists were included by the Center for Democratic Integrity on a list describing non-Russians taking part in the international observation of Russian elections in occupied Ukrainian territories, according to statements from Vienna and Berlin last week. CDI is a Vienna-based NGO led by a Ukrainian political scientist, who has published research on the Kremlin’s ties to European far-right movements. The organization is co-managed by a Russian expert and a German professor.
Their statement notes that the elections, as supported by these two Spaniards and others, were criticized and branded by the European Commission as a new, unnecessary move by Russia to legitimize illegal control and attempted annexation of Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian government also regards participation by these activists as illegal entry into its territory.
During the same week, the US State Department labeled elections in the occupied territories as propaganda exercises, suggesting that participants in the elections as international observers could face sanctions and visa restrictions.
Photographs circulated showing Refoyo with other pro-Kremlin figures at events monitored by observers in occupied territories, highlighting the ongoing use of international observers in Moscow’s broader strategy.
CDI notes that this technique has appeared in Russian campaigns for decades: authorities have used international observers to whitewash fraudulent elections and plebiscites that lack legitimacy.
Radicals
Many names on CDI’s list also appear on a separate list of biased observers compiled by EPDE, a platform that brings together groups from Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Moldova, Germany, and the Nordic countries to advocate for clean and non-interfering elections. This platform is supported by the Council of Europe, the European Commission, and the German Foreign Ministry.
In addition to Moragón, another shared name on these lists is André Chanclu, a veteran of radical neo-fascist circles in France who has been identified as a Kremlin contact. The Dutch pro-Russian propagandist also features on both lists, along with foreign-based collaborators who have been linked to various international pro-Kremlin networks. Other named individuals include associates connected to the Sprska government in Bosnia, a Mexican activist linked to a court, and members of international solidarity organizations who have participated in electoral observation activities in the occupied Ukrainian territories since 2014.