Russia decries 'baseless' allegations of U.S. elections interference

Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Russia has decried what it called "baseless" and "malicious slander" from the U.S. intelligence community that it is interfering in the 2024 presidential election.

In a joint statement Friday, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency accused Russian actors of trying to raise questions about the integrity of the U.S. election and stoke divisions.

"Russian influence actors manufactured a recent video that falsely depicted individuals claiming to be from Haiti and voting illegally in multiple counties in Georgia," the joint statement reads.

"Russian influence actors also manufactured a video falsely accusing an individual associated with the Democratic presidential ticket of taking a bribe from a U.S. entertainer."

Russia's Foreign Ministry responded in a statement on Telegram, calling the accusations "baseless" and stating that the Russian Embassy in the United States has not received proof of the claims or "any inquiries regarding the narrative being promoted by the press."

"This has become an unfortunate tradition: before every election, American authorities and media descend into hysteria about 'Russian disinformation and interference,' attempting to attribute any problems to external influence," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"When we ask our counterparts in the State Department and the White House about the presence of evidence in support of the accusations, we are only told something along the lines of 'you know everything yourself'."

The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that it "does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," including the United States.