Following more than nine months of unjust detention, American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva is adjusting to life in freedom with her family in Prague. While in Washington this week to receive an award, she tells VOA’s Liam Scott the fate of other political prisoners is on her mind. Camera: Cristina Caicedo Smit, Hoshang Fahim, Adam Greenbaum, Krystof Maixner, Martin Bubenik
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Washington — Russian opposition politician Ilya Ponomarev says he saw no reason to be suspicious when he received what appeared to be an email from former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, a trusted contact with whom he communicates periodically.

“This letter was visually no different from his other letters. I believed that it was his letter because it was visually no different from his other letters,” Ponomarev told VOA Russian in a Zoom interview.

But this email from several months ago turned out to be one of numerous “phishing attacks” targeting U.S. diplomats and others that have been identified as the work of two cyber-espionage outfits linked to the Russian government. And the fact that it accurately mimicked McFaul’s previous messages indicated the attackers had already seen those earlier messages.

“The letter contained a reference to a report on Ukraine that McFaul supposedly intended to deliver in China, and also a request to check whether he had mixed something up,” Ponomarev said. McFaul did in fact deliver a lecture to Chinese students in April.

McFaul has confirmed to VOA that he was the target of a hacker attack but did not elaborate. The details of the attack were revealed in a recent joint report from the digital rights group Access Now and the Canadian research nonprofit Citizen Lab.

The report says the attacks were conducted between October 2022 and August 2024 by two “threat actors close to the Russian regime” known as ColdRiver and ColdWastrel.

According to The Washington Post, “multiple governments” have said that ColdRiver works for the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the successor agency to the Soviet KGB, while ColdWastrel is believed to be “working for another Russian agency.”

Among their targets were exiled Russian opposition figures, employees of U.S. think tanks, former U.S. ambassadors to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, political figures and academics, employees of American and European non-profit organizations, and media organizations.

VOA has spoken with several of those named as victims, including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, a Russian journalist and a Russian human rights activist, as well as Ponomarev and McFaul.

The goal of phishing attacks is to try to get a user to click on a malicious link or enter their data – login and password – on a fake website. If the attack is successful, hackers gain access to the victim’s confidential information, including correspondence, contact lists and, in some cases, financial information.

Hackers conducting phishing campaigns employ a technique called “social engineering,” which a leading American cyber security software and services company described as using “psychological manipulation” designed to trick users into divulging sensitive information.

Herbst, who is currently director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, told VOA that he has been facing attacks from Russian hackers for the past 10 years.

The Kremlin “didn’t like from the beginning what I was doing because I was pointing out that they’re conducting an illegal invasion of Ukraine, I guess going back to 2014,” he said.

Herbst said that Russian hackers target people who take a public position aimed at countering Moscow’s aggressive foreign policy: “So, it’s not surprising that people like Steve Pifer or Michael McFaul, or myself have received attention from the FSB, the GRU [Russian military intelligence] and others.”

Herbst added: “I don’t want to overstate the attention they give to us. You know, we are pretty much tertiary or even less than tertiary players on the international political scene, but they know they have such a massive security apparatus that they give some low-level guy the job of following people like me.”

“The stuff that linked me with Mike McFaul or Steve Pifer … was a fishing expedition, right? [To] see if they could get one of them to say something in confidence to me, which would be embarrassing.”

Steven Pifer did not respond to a VOA request for comment on the details of the hacker attack.

Ponomarev said that he responded to the fake McFaul email, but did not have time to download the malicious file attached to it since he was on a plane when he opened the email, and it was inconvenient to download the file from a phone.

“When I opened it on my computer, I noticed that the address he sent it to me from was not his usual Stanford University address, it was something completely different,” Ponomarev told VOA.

“Being an IT guy, I looked at the IP address of the file in the email and was convinced that it was phishing. After that, I passed the information on to the competent authorities so that they could look into the matter further.”

Ponomarev added that the fact the email ostensibly sent by McFaul came from a Proton service mailbox did not initially arouse any particular suspicions.

“I also have an address on Proton, for some kind of confidential correspondence,” he said, noting that attackers can forge addresses on Proton by changing one letter, so that visually it still looks like a regular mailing address.

“They use it because it’s completely anonymous,” Ponomarev added. “You can’t trace an IP address to Proton, so when you use Proton, it’s a dead end, you can’t excavate it any further.”

Polina Machold, publisher of Proekt, an independent Russian media outlet specializing in investigative journalism, told VOA that in the phishing attack targeting her, which took place last November, the hackers also employed social engineering and the Proton mail service.

“I received a letter from a ‘colleague’ from another media outlet, with whom we had previously done a joint project, asking to look at a new potential project or something like that,” Machold told VOA.

“We corresponded for some time, and when it came to opening the file, I discovered that something very suspicious was going on, because the link in the file supposedly led to Proton Drive, but the domain was something completely different.”

Machold said she called a colleague who confirmed that the attacker was pretending to be him. The information was passed on to Citizen Lab, which determined that hackers likely associated with the FSB were behind the attack.

Dmitry Zair-Bek, who heads First Department, a Russian rights group, said that a member of his group was among the first targets of a hacker attack “because we defend people in cases of treason and espionage.”

“One of our employees received an email from an address that mimicked the address of one of our partners,” he said. “The email contained a link that led to a phishing site.”

Zair-Bek added that the ColdWastrel group carried out the attack targeting First Department.

“They are the ‘C’ students of the hacker world,” Zair-Bek said of ColdWastrel. “The idea is the same as the ColdRiver group, they just paid less attention to some small details.

“The fact that they are ‘C’ students does not mean that they are less effective. They choose a person who from their point of view, on the one hand, has the largest amount of information that interests them and, on the other hand, is the most vulnerable.”

Even someone well-versed in digital security issues can fall for the bait of hackers, says Natalia Krapiva, an expert at Access Now, which co-authored the report on the Russian hacker attacks.

“The ColdRiver and ColdWastrel groups use quite sophisticated social engineering, a very good understanding of the context,” she told VOA.

“They know how the organization is structured in general, which people are responsible for finance, HR, politics, and so on. That is, they know which employee to send this [phishing] email to. They also understand with whom these organizations interact and on what issues.”

“We have seen examples of exploiting existing relationships between a Russian and an American human rights organization,” Krapiva added, noting that hackers knew that one of the organizations was waiting for a grant application and sent a malicious PDF file to the employee who was waiting for it.

This suggests that hackers already have a certain amount of information at the time they attempt to attack their victims, she said.
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Stockholm, Sweden — As China and Russia look to deepen cooperation in the Arctic, analysts cite concern about increasing geopolitical competition in the region, forcing countries to think more about how to respond to potential threats.   

Following a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow on August 21, China released an expansive communique outlining ways the two countries are boosting cooperation.  

On the Arctic, Beijing and Moscow pledged to strengthen cooperation in areas including shipping development, navigation safety, polar ship technology and construction.  

“Both countries will encourage their enterprises to actively engage in Arctic shipping routes cooperation based on market principles and pay special attention to the protection of the Arctic ecosystem,” according to the communique.   

Analysts say the latest announcement is part of Beijing and Moscow’s efforts to deepen collaboration in areas such as shipping, energy exploration and Arctic security.  

“China has invested in Russia’s energy projects in the Arctic, cooperated with Russia in shipping and infrastructure development, and conducted military exercises in the strategically important region,” said Patrik Andersson, an analyst at the Swedish National China Center.  

In July, the U.S. Canada North American Aerospace Defense Command revealed that it had tracked two Russian and two Chinese long-range strategic bombers that appeared in the skies off coastal Alaska. 

Since 2023, Beijing and Moscow have worked jointly to develop the Northern Sea Route across Russia’s Arctic coastline, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has said is “absolutely fundamental.” The two also signed a memorandum of understanding aiming to deepen maritime security cooperation between their coast guards.

Despite attempts to deepen cooperation in the Arctic, Andersson said there are still several friction points between Beijing and Moscow.  

“Russia has historically been wary of inviting China into the Arctic because Moscow views the region as its backyard,” he told VOA in an interview in Stockholm.  

“As the bilateral power balance increasingly shifts in China’s favor since the start of the Ukraine War, Russia is becoming more economically and politically dependent on China, which may force Moscow to consider strengthening cooperation with Beijing in some areas where it was previously reluctant to do so,” Andersson said.  

And while the recent joint aerial patrol near Alaska has attracted a lot of attention, Andersson said the scope of their bilateral military cooperation in the Arctic remains unclear.  

“It’s difficult to determine how much these exercises mean that they are really ready to establish a closer military cooperation in the region or whether they are mainly about posturing and deterring the U.S. and its allies in the Arctic,” he told VOA.  

Growing Arctic awareness  

Even so, analysts say some Nordic countries are becoming more aware of the potential threat China may bring to the region through its cooperation with Moscow.  

“[While] officials in Finland are currently observing the developments in the Arctic, there’s definitely a growing awareness about the potential threats or challenges that come with the growing Chinese presence in the region,” said Minna Alander, an expert on Arctic security at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.  

She said Russia remains the main driver of the militarization of the Arctic but China could pose challenges to Finland and other Arctic states because of more opaque strategies.  

“There’s always this suspicion that most of the research that China is conducting at its research station in Norway’s Svalbard is not purely for ‘the advancement of human civilization,’” she told VOA by phone.  

Regional experts note that Nordic countries have yet to come up with a set of strategies to cope with the potential challenges.  

“I think we are realizing the complexity of hybrid threats that could be posed by China and Russia [in the Arctic] but we haven’t developed a toolbox to cope with those challenges,” Patrik Oksanen, a senior fellow at the Stockholm Free World Forum, told VOA by phone.  

He said economic ties with China complicate Sweden’s attempt to produce a strategic plan to cope with the new challenges.  

“There is an unwillingness to do something that could be interpreted as escalating the situation with China, but we will need to address the potential threats that China and Russia pose in the Arctic in a very short time,” Oksanen said.  

Ice pact 

Alander in Finland said she expects countries like Finland and Sweden, which became NATO members in 2023, to increase cooperation in the Arctic with other NATO allies. 

“Finland has an interest in developing relations with [other NATO members] in sectors such as security, economy, and trade, and Finland has gone all in on this transatlantic link,” she told VOA.  

In July, the U.S., Canada, and Finland announced a trilateral initiative, called the “Ice Pact,” to collaborate on the production of polar icebreakers.  

The Canadian government said the initiative recognizes the “joint priority of upholding safety and security in the Arctic, including the continued protection of long-standing international rules and norms.”   

In addition to increasing cooperation with NATO allies, Joar Forssell, a Swedish MP from the Liberal Party, told VOA that lawmakers from Nordic countries also are looking to deepen coordination on issues related to the Arctic.  

As NATO countries, along with Russia and China, look to increase cooperation with partners in the Arctic, Alander said the trend likely will lead to greater geopolitical tension in a region that’s long been free from global power struggle.  

“There used to be a slogan ‘High north, low tension’ [to describe the state in the Arctic] but unfortunately, it might be more like ‘high north, high tension’ in the future,” she told VOA. 
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NEA SILATA, Greece — Six weeks before harvest, there’s no water left in the ground for farmer Dimitris Papadakis’ olive grove in northern Greece, so he has started a new morning routine.

Joined by his teenage son, he uses a truck to bring water from nearby areas. Using a small generator, he connects the vehicle to irrigation pipes to save what’s left of his thirsty crop.

“Our boreholes have almost dried up … We now depend on tankers to irrigate our fields,” says Papadakis, who heads an agricultural cooperative in a village in Halkidiki, a three-fingered peninsula in northern Greece which is popular with tourists.

This summer, southern Europe has been hammered by successive heat waves, following on from below-average rainfall for up to three years. Drought spots on the map of the region have expanded. In Greece, the effects include water shortages, dried-up lakes, and even the death of wild horses.

The groundwater beneath Papadakis’ 270 olive trees is dwindling and becoming brackish, with the drought expected to cut his expected yield in half.

The water crisis has been exacerbated by a booming tourist season.

In Kassandra, the westernmost finger of the peninsula, the year-round population of 17,000 swells to 650,000 in the summer, placing unsustainable pressure on water resources.

“We’ve seen a 30-40% reduction in water supply following three consecutive winters with almost no rainfall,” says local mayor Anastasia Halkia.

Haroula Psaropoulou owns a home in the area, in the seaside village of Nea Potidea. She says it’s hard to cope with frequent household water cuts that may last up to five days during the searing heat.

“I recycle water from the bathroom sink and from washing, and I use it for the plants,” the 60-year-old Psaropoulou says. “I’ve also carried water from the sea for the toilet.”

According to the European Union’s Emergency Management Service, acute drought conditions currently exist around the Black Sea, stretching westward into northern Greece.

Along the Evros River, which divides Greece and Turkey, severe drought means the delta now has higher levels of seawater. The extra salt is killing the wild horses that depend on the river for drinking water.

“If the horses go without water for a week, they die,” says Nikos Mousounakis, who is leading an initiative to create freshwater drinking points for the horses. “Some of them are still in bad shape, but we hope that with continued help, they’ll recover.”

Until recently, Lake Picrolimni in northern Greece was a popular destination for mud baths, but this summer it’s a shallow basin of cracked earth, dry enough to hold the weight of a car.

“It hasn’t rained for two years now, so the lake has totally dried up,” says local municipal chairman Costas Partsis. “It used to have a lot of water. People came and bathed in the muddy water. The clay has therapeutic properties for many ailments. No one came this year.”

Nearby, Lake Doirani straddles Greece’s northern border with North Macedonia. The shoreline has receded by 300 meters in recent years. Local officials are pleading for public works to restore the river’s water supply, echoing calls from experts who argue that major changes in water management are needed to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change.

“We’re experiencing a prolonged period of drought lasting about three years now, due to lower rainfall and snowfall, a result of the climate crisis and poor water management,” says Konstantinos S. Voudouris, a professor of hydrogeology at the University of Thessaloniki. “The solution lies in three key words: conservation, storage, and reuse.”

Voudouris argues that outdated water networks are losing too much water and that infrastructure improvements must focus on collecting and storing rainwater during the wet season, as well as reusing treated wastewater for agriculture.

“These drought phenomena will return with greater intensity in the future,” Voudouris said. “We need to take action and plan ahead to minimize their impact… and we must adapt to this new reality.”
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BERLIN — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Wednesday to discuss a new partnership between the countries, on his first bilateral trip since taking office last month.

The British leader, who will also travel on to Paris, has pledged to rebuild trust with European allies damaged by Brexit, and is set to hold talks with Scholz about launching a new bilateral accord with Germany.

Labour had said it would seek a security and defense treaty with Germany if it won the July 4 general election, which it did by a landslide — propelling Starmer to the premiership.

The new deal, set to be similar to Britain’s 2010 “Lancaster House” treaty with France, will take several months to negotiate and be finalized early next year, according to Starmer’s Downing Street office.

A “key pillar of the UK’s wider reset with Europe,” it will build on a bilateral defense agreement currently being negotiated and expected to be finalized later this year.

It is aimed at boosting business and trade, deepening defense and security cooperation, and increasing “joint action on illegal migration,” Downing Street said.

Starmer’s host Scholz has been under pressure to crack down on illegal migration after a suspected Islamist knife attack in the western city of Solingen on Friday.

The stabbing, which left three people dead and eight injured, was allegedly carried out by a 26-year-old Syrian man who evaded attempts by German authorities to deport him.

Ukraine aid issue

Starmer’s premiership meanwhile has faced an early challenge after a deadly knife attack in Southport last month sparked anti-immigration riots, which officials say were stoked by far-right elements and false information.

On his trip to Berlin, Starmer will note that strengthening ties with Germany and France is “crucial” for tackling illegal migration and “boosting economic growth across the continent and crucially in the UK.”

The talks between Starmer and Scholz will also likely focus on military support for Ukraine, with both countries under pressure over their aid for Kyiv to help it fight off Russia’s invasion.

Kyiv’s western allies have reacted cautiously to Ukraine’s recent incursion into Kursk, worried that their weapons could be used on Russian soil, possibly sparking a strong reaction from Moscow.

Britain allows Kyiv to deploy a squadron of 14 British-made Challenger 2 tanks as it sees fit, but has put limits on the use of its long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

Germany, meanwhile, has repeatedly refused to send Kyiv its long-range Taurus missiles, over fears of escalating the conflict.

Germany has been the second-largest contributor of aid to Ukraine after the United States, but plans to halve the budget for that aid next year.

Where Germany spent around $9 billion on aid for Ukraine in 2024, the latest draft earmarks around 4 billion euros.

UK-Germany security pact

“Clearly, we always encourage allies to continue the crucial support of Ukraine,” a spokesperson for Starmer said ahead of the visit.

At a European Political Community (EPC) summit in England two weeks after his election win, Starmer told European leaders the UK would be a “friend and partner” to them.

Starmer has ruled out rejoining the European single market, customs union or freedom of movement, to avoid reopening what remains a thorny issue among British politicians and the public alike.

But he does want to negotiate a new security pact with the bloc and a veterinary agreement to ease border checks on agricultural foods, as well as an improved trading deal.

Starmer’s visit was a chance to build a “meaningful relationship” with the German leader and support the UK premier’s “wider agendas on migration, trade and defense,” Sophia Gaston, head of foreign policy at the Policy Exchange think tank, told AFP.

The Berlin trip was “the culmination of an early flurry of activity” by Starmer’s new government, said Gaston.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy chose Germany for his first trip abroad just two days after Labour’s election victory, calling for a “reset” in relations with European allies.
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