“It’s completely obvious that Butina in this case is a cog in a big propaganda campaign that has been launched in the USA against Russia. Especially in the last five years, the United States has been particularly active in shaping the image of the enemy from our country. This is reinforced by sanctions policy. And this campaign always needs something to support and feed information. The story of a Russian citizen fits into this situation, ”said Novikov.
According to the deputy, the Butina case was artificially constructed and modeled, “but necessary for those who define the information picture in the United States.”
Earlier, a US court sentenced Butin to 18 months in prison for "conspiring to work illegally for the Russian government."
The Russian woman was detained in July 2018 on suspicion of "working for Russia as an agent." She made a deal with the investigation and pleaded guilty to conspiring to work illegally on the Russian government.