Alexandra Sasha, who is now a candidate for the EU election for the liberal party Venstre, participated in meetings with the European Russian Forum in 2016 and 2017, according to information obtained by Danish newspaper BT from deleted posts on her Facebook profile. This forum is described as a Russian “influence forum” by Flemming Splidsboel, a Russia expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), and its purpose, according to him, is to promote Russian interests in Europe. Sasha was previously active on the European Russian Forum, but has since deleted several posts about her participation. However, BT has screenshots of these posts, revealing that she participated under her Russian last name Bessmertnaia. The forum’s leader is Tatjana Ždanoka, a Latvian member of the European Parliament, who this year was exposed as a secret agent for the Russian intelligence service FSB, according to The Insider. She has been fined by the European Parliament and is under investigation by the Latvian intelligence service. Despite this, Sasha confirms her participation in the forum in connection with her dissertation at University College London in politics and Eastern European studies, which she included in her official statement to BT. When requested for an interview, Sasha declined to respond personally but sent a letter through Venstre’s (Venstre Party) press office maintaining that her participation in the forum was driven by academic interest and a desire to understand the tensions between East and West. She emphasizes that she has not participated in the forum since 2017, noting that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the forum has lost its relevance. Splidsboel assesses that the forum could have been used for more than just dialogue and mentions that participants may have been influenced or recruited by the FSB. BT has reached out to Sasha with specific questions about her participation but has not received complete answers. It remains unclear what exact role Sasha played in the forum and whether she had contact with other key figures, including Ždanoka.

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