USAID-Linked Ukrainian Group Smeared Vance, Massie As ‘Foreign Propagandists’

A London-based Ukrainian intelligence group linked to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) labelled American politicians as “foreign propagandists,” falsely accusing them of Russian loyalty.

The group, Molfar, created an online blacklist including Vice President JD Vance, Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, U.S. Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent and others. The list claims these officials are “external agents of Russia,” demanding their removal from public positions and investigations into their “personal involvement in crimes.” and calling for sanctions against them.

“Instead of mentioning famous names of internal Russian propagandists, we focused on the personalities of external agents of Russia,” Molfar’s website reads. “Foreign propagandists of the Russian Federation repeat the theses of Kremlin leadership, justify Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, call for the lifting of Western sanctions against the Russian Federation and convince the world that the annexation of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is legitimate.”

The website presents tweets from Vance describing Ukrainian NATO membership as “irresponsible” and Massie’s characterization of Ukrainian aid as wasteful as supposed “evidence” that these politicians serve as Russian “propagandists.”

Molfar, founded in 2014 following Ukraine’s Western-backed Maidan uprising, describes itself as an open-source intelligence (OSINT) firm dedicated to countering “Russian disinformation” and identifying “enemies of Ukraine.” While it claims to focus on tracking alleged war criminals, its activities have expanded to include doxxing journalists and compiling blacklists of foreign politicians. Molfar lists USAID as a “partner” on its website as of Tuesday.

The “enemies and traitors of Ukraine” blacklist extends beyond politicians to include American journalists such as Glenn Greenwald and Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson. In some cases, Molfar published personal details, including home addresses and family information, according to Morning Star, a British socialist outlet.

Morning Star reported that they first became aware of Molfar after receiving a press release from the group offering to “dish dirt” on Grayzone journalist Max Blumenthal. Molfar reportedly accused Blumenthal of taking “money from the Kremlin to run an aggressive campaign against Ukraine.”

The Center for Countering Disinformation, an official Ukrainian government entity, previously smeared Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as “Kremlin assets,” according to Grayzone. The center deleted its list in 2024 but later admitted the smears were posted without verification.

The revelation comes after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effectively dismantled USAID after uncovering a series of wasteful spending programs including Ecuadorian drag shows, Peruvian transgender comic books and Arabic-language “Sesame Street” productions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday a plan to cancel 83% of the agency’s programs after a six-week review.

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