Russian operatives are laying the groundwork for what could be a stronger push to support candidates who oppose aiding Ukraine, or who call for pulling the United States back from NATO and other alliances, U.S. officials and independent researchers say.

"The network demonstrates an evolution of Russian objectives with their information operations," Lisa Kaplan, Alethea's (an anti-disinformation company) founder and chief executive, said in an interview. "Where the Russians previously sought to sow chaos, now they appear to be singularly focused on influencing democracies to elect candidates that do not support sending aid to Ukraine - which in turn supports isolationist, protectionist candidates and policies."

"This long-term strategy, if effective, would result in reduced support for Ukraine globally," she said.

American officials note, however, that these techniques make identifying - and calling out - Russian operations particularly difficult.

Intelligence agencies believe the Russian government again favors Mr. Trump's election, largely because of his skepticism about aid to Ukraine. But how explicitly Russian influence operations will support Mr. Trump or denigrate Mr. Biden is unknown, according to American officials.