Adversary Intelligence — 2026-10-23

Warner and Himes Warn of Russian Covert Campaign Targeting Pro-Ukraine US Candidates Ahead of Midterms

BLUFPartisan disagreement over disclosure and ODNI's silence mean an official U.S. intelligence community statement attributing the Storm-1516 deepfake videos targeting Talarico to Russia is very unlikely by November 6, leaving public accountability to outside researchers.

Senators and representatives briefed on a classified intelligence community report said Russia has launched a covert online campaign against Democratic and Republican candidates who support Ukraine, Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner and House Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes told reporters on Wednesday, according to Politico 1. Warner said the report indicates Moscow is using AI tools to spread its messaging faster, while Himes said the themes include distrust of US institutions and voting machines 1. The Kyiv Independent reported Warner named Senator Jon Ossoff and Texas Senate candidate James Talarico as especially targeted by AI-generated ads 2. Graphika attributed deepfake videos accusing Talarico of sexual assault to Russia-linked Storm-1516 1, and the Kyiv Independent cited NBC News reporting that three research teams likely tie the videos to a Russian government-backed group 2. Himes said intelligence agencies have seen no evidence of Russian attempts to hack election infrastructure or campaign networks 13. A spokesperson for House Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford accused the two Democrats of cherry-picking details of the report 1.

Analysis
Confidence is moderate, resting on consistent lawmaker and private-sector attribution but no official ODNI, FBI or CISA comment. The US intelligence community is very unlikely to publicly release an unclassified statement or report attributing the Storm-1516 deepfake videos targeting James Talarico to Russia between October 23 and November 6. Independent corroboration is thin, since the four outlets converge on one lawmaker briefing and the Kyiv Independent and Militarnyi draw on Politico. Attribution so far comes from Graphika, research teams and Democratic lawmakers, whose characterization the House Intelligence chair's office disputes as selective. That partisan fight over disclosure, plus ODNI's silence, leaves public attribution with nongovernment researchers and X through the November 3 election, though Warner and Himes may keep disclosing details after the classified briefing scheduled next week. Officials may also be silent because the classified report never names the Talarico videos, which would mean no attributable intelligence rather than a choice to withhold. Without an official statement, campaigns and platforms must rely on Graphika and lawmaker briefings rather than act on government attribution before polling day.

4 sources

Russia launched covert influence campaign to undermine US candidates supportive of Ukraine, lawmakers say - Politico
Russian disinformation campaign targets pro-Ukraine candidates ahead of midterms, lawmakers say - Kyiv Independent
Russia Launches Disinformation Campaign Against Pro-Ukrainian Politicians in USA Ahead of Elections - Militarnyi
Early Edition: October 22, 2026 - Just Security