British lobbyists funded $1M pro-Ukraine campaign targeting top US Republicans

Murphy was appointed as a director of the British company around a month after it was established, in July 2023, alongside veteran Labour strategist Blair McDougall, who is now a Labour member of parliament.

The campaign then embarked on a flurry of activity to make the case for a ramp up in Ukraine support.

In early August, it boasted in a press release of a six-figure media spend — including a 30-second ad slot during Fox News Sunday, a mainstay of the conservative network. 

In October, the group paid to display on the lawn outside the Capitol in Washington a series of signs depicting senior Republican figures skeptical about further aid to Ukraine — including vice-presidential candidate Vance and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene — as Russian dolls, alongside the text: “Support Ukraine. Stop Russia. Stop China.”

In a post on X from a since deleted account, the campaign branded Taylor Greene a “darling of Russian state media” who “regularly parrots Russian propaganda.” Other posts from the campaign accused GOP lawmakers opposed to Ukraine aid of “siding with the interests of Russia and China” and warned they would “surrender to the spread of authoritarianism.”

A press release from the group claimed: “The infighting in the Republican conference is actively harming our ally Ukraine, and actively helping our adversaries China and Russia. Ukraine’s fight for freedom helps protect us against Russia and China. Republicans must put their differences aside and protect Americans by supporting Ukraine.”