Thursday 9 June 2022 11:04 PM Senate Democrats sound the alarm on 'Russian interference' in the midterms trends now

Leading Senate Democrats on Thursday urged U.S. intelligence agencies to be ready for Russian disinformation campaigns as the nation prepares for midterm elections in November.

At stake is control of the House and the Senate, as the Democratic party tries to stave off expected losses.

Senior Trump allies quickly dismissed the warning as another attempt to tie Republicans to Russia or explain away defeat. 

But a grand jury has charged 12 Russian military intelligence officers with efforts to sway the 2016 presidential election against Hillary Clinton. 

And a group of 17 Senate Democrats led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, and Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to senior defense and intelligence officials setting out their concerns that Russia's invasion of Ukraine only makes a disinformation campaign more likely.

'As the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to an increase in Russian disinformation and warnings of potential cyberattacks, we urge you to ensure that your agencies are prepared to quickly and effectively counter Russian influence campaigns targeting the 2022 elections…' they write.

'Experts have warned that the increase in Russian disinformation and cyber threats creates a security concern for U.S. elections and that Russia will likely view the 2022 elections as a "ripe target" for influence operations.'