In the 2024 European Parliament elections, Fidiás Panayiotou, a popular 24-year-old Cypriot blogger with 2.6 million followers, was elected as an independent MEP. Back in 2023, Panayiotou travelled from Vladivostok to Moscow, releasing a video in which he twice displayed a portrait of Putin, accompanying it with comments expressing support for the Russian leader within the country.  As an MEP, Panayiotou criticised the European Union for its support of Ukraine and called for negotiations with Vladimir Putin. Panayiotou was one of the few MEPs to vote against a European Parliament resolution calling for the return of 20,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
On 9 May 2025, Panayotou, along with four other MEPs, visited Moscow and took part in the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Putin regime’s main ideological holiday. The following day, Panayotou met with members of the Federation Council, members of the State Duma and, for some reason, members of the Russian Academy of Sciences to exchange views. This trip to Russia – a country completely politically isolated from the European Union – speaks for itself. 
The trip was arranged by the Russian Peace Fund, but, judging by a number of indications, it was Panayotou himself who organised the group of MPs.   
According to an investigation by The Insider, the Russian Peace Fund collects data on its foreign guests – politicians, journalists, activists and representatives of NGOs – and passes this information on to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Ministry of Defence for recruitment purposes. Moreover, it does so on a systematic basis. Panayotou officially stated that he had financed the trip from his own funds.