Analyst Oleksandr Holubov discusses AfD deputies' intent to observe Russian "elections"

Holubov expressed skepticism about their intentions and highlighted the party's tendency to spread Russian propaganda in an interview on Espreso TV.

Holubov stated, "I honestly wouldn't expect any kind of what you call honesty in terms of monitoring these people in the election because I would obviously expect timeliness from people, for example, who are talking about Russia having some kind of security interest in territories of the former Soviet republics; or that NATO is to blame for the fact that Ukraine attacked Russia, in their worldview; that there are Nazis living in Ukraine who hunt Russian-speakers. I am exaggerating a little now."

Holubov emphasized that many AfD deputies promote Russian propaganda in their speeches and on social media, suggesting, "Either they sincerely believe in it, or it is simply part of their political agenda, allowing them to gather votes from people who want to believe that Putin is defending some conservative values or Christian civilization."

While discussing possible funding links between AfD and Russia, Holubov noted, "There are isolated cases when, in one way or another, indirect, I would say, Russian funding was tied to individual Alternative for Germany deputies. I am sincerely sure that if the German special services and German investigative journalists had dug a little more in this direction, they would find it much more interesting. Russian money is a very, very strange thing in economies that are somehow connected to offshore. If the money is found from the Netherlands, it is formally Dutch money, but of course, it can be connected with companies that are really dependent on the Russian special services."

On March 8, three AfD deputies expressed their desire to observe Vladimir Putin's "elections" in Russia, following his invitation, Tagesschau reported. 

• It's worth noting that on February 4, approximately 200,000 people participated in protests against the far-right AfD party in Germany.