More than 20 Russian spies, hackers, and organizations have been subject to sanctions by the United Kingdom for what it called a “sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity” to destabilize Europe.
The Russian military intelligence agency GRU agency and 18 of its officers were sanctioned by the Foreign Office on Friday.
According to the report, officers were allegedly involved in the preparation of the 2022 attack on Ukraine’s Mariupol theater, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians who sought refuge inside the structure.
It also sanctioned those accused of being involved in the British nerve agent Novichok poisoning attack that happened in 2018 against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy stated in a statement that “GRU spies are conducting a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, and threaten British citizens’ safety.
Additionally, the UK claimed that Russia had targeted British media outlets, telecoms companies, political and democratic institutions, and UK energy infrastructure.
Moscow has been repeatedly accused of orchestrating bad behavior by British authorities, including sabotage and assassinations, as well as traditional espionage and actions that undermine democracy.
Russia refutes assertions.
Three men were found guilty earlier this month of arson at a London-based Ukrainian company, according to police, who carried out the attack at the mercenary group’s will.
Moscow has refuted these accusations, saying they were made up by Moscow because they were not in any way harmful to the UK.
The British foreign ministry announced that it was punishing three members of the “African Initiative,” which it claimed was a Russian-funded social media content mill operating in West Africa, in addition to the sanctions against GRU.
To change its approach to defense, the UK has recently increased its military spending, partly to address Russian threats, nuclear risks, and cyberattacks.
On Friday, the European Union and NATO released statements praising what they thought were Russia’s destabilizing hybrid activities.
The UK’s action comes on the same day that the EU approved a number of stringent sanctions against Russia for its conflict in Ukraine.
Source: Aljazeera
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