Alexandra Sasha withdraws as candidate for the EU Parliament due to media stories about Russian connections. With less than two weeks until election day, Alexandra Sasha has withdrawn as a candidate. This is due to media stories. Venstre’s Alexandra Sasha has chosen to withdraw as a candidate for the EU Parliamentary elections after a series of media stories about her Russian connections. On her Facebook page, the 28-year-old candidate, who has Russian roots, denies, for example, that she would be a “lackey for Putin”.
“For weeks, I have been subjected to a smear campaign filled with false statements and unpleasant interpretations that have been both physically and mentally tough, and I must now acknowledge that I cannot take it anymore,” she writes on Facebook. This decision comes after several days of intense media coverage, especially from Ekstra Bladet and B.T., which have published a number of stories about the politician, who is not well known to the general public. Among other things, B.T. has reported that Alexandra Sasha has been a board member of the European Russian Forum’s youth organization. According to senior researcher and Russia expert Flemming Splidsboel from the Danish Institute for International Studies (Diis), the European Russian Forum is characterized by being a pro-Russian and Putin-friendly “influence forum”.
Alexandra Sasha’s full name is Alexandra Sasha Bessmertnaia. She explains in her post that she is not just withdrawing as a candidate for the EU Parliament, but that she is withdrawing from politics altogether. “I entered politics to make a difference and to talk about my visions. It’s difficult when you constantly have to deal with accusations and hateful messages on social media,” she writes. According to information from the Danish Youth Council, she is the 1st alternate for the Danish Parliament in the Copenhagen constituency and the 1st alternate for the Frederiksberg municipal council. She is an entrepreneur focusing on sustainability in her daily life.
On Alexandra Sasha’s Instagram profile, a video was posted just under a week ago, where she is seen with the Speaker of the Danish Parliament, Søren Gade (V), expressing support for her candidacy. Søren Gade himself has a background in the EU Parliament and was a vote-winner in the last EU elections in 2019. Alexandra Sasha is not the first candidate to withdraw due to Russian connections. Earlier this week, Alternativet announced that Irina Bjørnø was stepping down as a candidate.
According to a press release from the party, Bjørnø stated: “The media attention on my person and my background should not stand in the way of the sustainable future I believe in, so I have chosen to withdraw as an EP candidate.” Ekstra Bladet reported that Irina Bjørnø is the chairman of an association that, according to the media, receives support from a Russian state-controlled organization on the EU sanctions list. However, Alternativet has explained that the association has been inactive since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Both Alexandra Sasha and Irina Bjørnø’s names will still appear on the ballot when the election is held on June 9th. This is because the election is so close. If they are elected, they have the opportunity to resign from their mandate. Venstre’s press service, which has been handling communication between Alexandra Sasha and the media in recent days, refers on Thursday to the Facebook post.
Ritzau is trying to get a comment from Venstre’s chairman, Troels Lund Poulsen.