• 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.

May 2024

Online conspiracies proliferate following the attack on Slovakian PM Robert Fico

by Ruslan Trad

Anti-Western and anti-Ukraine narratives circulated online after the assassination attempt on the Slovakian prime minister.
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May 2024

Russian information operations targeted Ukraine and NATO during the battle for Avdiivka

by Valentin Châtelet, Sayyara Mammadova, Ruslan Trad

Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and state media pushed multiple narratives to undermine Ukraine and its western partners
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November 2023

Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin surrogates accuse the US of using ‘climate weapons’ in Crimea

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Following a severe storm in the Black Sea heavily impacted Crimea, pro-Kremlin sources circulated a conspiracy suggesting the US used a weather weapon.
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