According to EUobserver, Russian state-sponsored media outlet Sputnik conducted a disinformation campaign in late 2015 during a time of protests in Kosovo and Montenegro aimed at stopping an EU accord on better relations with Serbia and NATO accession. Sputnik published multiple stories accusing the West of promoting instability in the region and planning the overthrow of pro-Kremlin President Milorad Dodik. According to EUobserver, Sputnik became a leading source of information in Serbia following the shut-down of the independent Tanjug news agency in November 2015.