Overview
- The Paris prosecutor confirmed indictments for offenses including intelligence with a foreign power, activity to obtain national-interest information for a foreign power, and criminal conspiracy, which carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison.
- Those remanded are Anna Novikova, 40, Vyacheslav P., 40, and Vincent P., 63, while Bernard F., 58, is under strict judicial supervision that includes weekly police check-ins and a ban on relevant associational activity.
- Video recorded on September 3 shows Vyacheslav P. placing pro‑Russia posters on the Arc de Triomphe and then phoning Novikova to report the act, according to the prosecutor.
- Novikova had been monitored by the DGSI since early 2025 for contacts with French company executives seeking economic information, leading to a March judicial investigation and 96-hour police custodies before the charges.
- Investigators allege SOS Donbass, registered in 2022 and known for the “La Russie n’est pas mon ennemie” campaign and public rallies, operated as a cover within a broader rise in suspected foreign interference cases in France.