UK sanctions senior Russian GRU officers over cyberattacks

LONDON (Reuters): Britain said on Friday it had sanctioned more than 20 Russian spies, hackers and agencies over what it called a “sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity” involving attacks on governments and institutions across Europe.

The foreign ministry said it was sanctioning three units of the Russian military intelligence GRU agency and 18 of its officers, including those it said were involved in targeting strikes against Mariupol during the war in Ukraine, and spying on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia before they were targeted in a Novichok poisoning in 2018.

“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

British authorities have repeatedly accused Moscow of orchestrating malign activity, ranging from traditional espionage and actions to undermine democracy, to sabotage and assassinations.

Earlier this month, three men were convicted over an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in London which police said was carried out at the behest of the Wagner mercenary group.

Moscow has rejected such accusations, saying they were politically motivated and that it posed no threat to Britain. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The European Union and NATO issued statements on Friday condemning what they described as Russia’s destabilising hybrid activities.

In its latest announcement, Britain said three Russian GRU units — 29155, 26165 and 74455 — had targeted media outlets, telecoms providers, political and democratic institutions, and energy infrastructure in the UK and across Europe.

Among these incidents were an Estonian government hack in 2020, a cyber-attack on the German Bundestag in 2015, the hacking in 2016 of the US Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and cyberattacks on the Paris Olympics last year, Britain said.

The British foreign ministry also said Unit 26165 had conducted reconnaissance on the Mariupol Theatre in March 2022 ahead of air strikes which local officials said killed about 300 people and which Russia has denied deliberately targeting.

In addition to the GRU-focused sanctions, the ministry said it was sanctioning three leaders of “African Initiative,” which it said was a Russian-funded social media content mill conducting information operations in West Africa.

Britain has recently ramped up its military spending to help change its approach to defense, partly to address threats from Russia, nuclear risks and cyberattacks.