• Resident Fellow for Security Research

Ruslan Trad

Ruslan Trad is a Resident Fellow for Security Research at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).

Ruslan is interested in Eurasia, Syria, conflicts, hybrid warfare, and mercenary groups. Before joining DFRLab, he worked as a risk analyst, consultant, and freelance journalist. In recent years, he has worked in the field of OSINT investigations and due diligence reports. Ruslan is also author and co-author of three books and a wide range of articles related to the Syrian Civil War, Russian foreign policy, and security.

Ruslan is a member of the Association of European Journalists–Bulgaria and is co-founder of De Re Militari, a Bulgarian online journal for conflict analysis. During his journalism career he was a correspondent in several countries including Lebanon, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Thailand.

In 2014 Ruslan was awarded Activist of the Year by the Helsinki Committee for his Syria war coverage. Ruslan’s articles can be found in Bellingcat, BBC, Carnegie Middle East Center, New Lines Magazine, Die Presse, European Eye on Radicalization, Vocal Europe, Bild, Vocativ, IB Times, Der Standard, Muftah, Internazionale, Al Jazeera, and others.

September 2024

How pro-Kremlin influencers spread unfounded connections between Ukraine and a would-be Trump assassin

by Sopo Gelava, Ruslan Trad

Ryan Routh's support for Ukraine quickly became online fodder for conspiracy theories
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July 2024

How Russian propagandists spun the Trump assassination attempt

by Emerson T. Brooking, Eto Buziashvili, Andy Carvin, Ruslan Trad

Conspiracy theories, alarmism, and early attempts to link the shooting with Ukraine
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July 2024

Anti-Ukraine narratives spread following Kyiv children’s hospital attack

by Ruslan Trad

Narratives blamed Ukraine for the incident, accusing it of targeting itself or deploying air defense systems ineptly
read more