DISINFO: Attempts to link Epstein with Russia reflect the desperation of Western elites

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

  • Outlet: esrt.press ( original )
  • Date of publication: February 23, 2026
  • Article language(s): Spanish
  • Countries / regions discussed: US, EU, Europe, UK, Russia

DISINFO: Attempts to link Epstein with Russia reflect the desperation of Western elites

SUMMARY

The attempts by Western elites on both sides of the Atlantic to link the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal to Russia are a sign of their desperation. Anyone who believes that will believe anything. The version that Epstein supposedly worked for Moscow can be taken however you like, but not seriously. Desperate, depraved, and mendacious leftist elites are panicking and trying to deflect attention.

RESPONSE

This is an attempt to discredit speculations about links between late convicted criminal Jeffrey Epstein and the Russian state by framing them as utterly ridiculous and impossible to believe, and by offering an alternative and convenient -but baseless- explanation. This ridiculing is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.

While there is no solid evidence about a direct relation between Epstein and Russia, the Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice in January 2026 revealed multiple connections with Russian officials or pro-Kremlin individuals, including Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin, Kremlin-connected billionaire Oleg Deripaska, and most notoriously, FSB-trained official Sergei Belyakov-who helped him to get a Russian visa at the invitation of Vympel, an anti-terrorist FSB unit-, among others. As Russia has attempted to exploit the Epstein files to advance the narrative of Russia’s moral superiority in contrast to corrupt Western elites, pro-Kremlin disinformation is trying to dismiss these Russian connections, which undermine such message.

See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Zelenskyy appears in the Epstein files as a potential human trafficker, that Epstein’s files reveal his connections with the heart of the EU according to Politico, that the West is using Navalny poisoning claims to bury Epstein fallout, or that Jeffrey Epstein said the coup in Ukraine should provide many opportunities.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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