The Russian propaganda network recently uncovered by Czech intelligence paid European and Belgian lawmakers to spread pro-Kremlin disinformation, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said in Brussels on March 28.

A collaborative media investigation published by The Insider in January alleged that Zdanoka, who represented Latvia in the European Parliament from 2004-2018 and again from 2019 until the present, has been a Russian asset since at least 2015.

While a sitting member of the European Parliament, Zdanoka participated as an international observer in a sham referendum on Crimea's annexation by Russia in 2014.

She also was one of a small group of lawmakers who voted against the European Parliament's condemnation of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in March 2022.