The United Kingdom has sanctioned 18 Russian military intelligence officers and three units of the GRU (Russia’s military intelligence agency), accusing them of orchestrating a long-running campaign of cyberattacks and disinformation under the direction of President Vladimir Putin.
The measures are part of a broader effort to expose and counter Russia’s malign activities, which the UK says are designed to destabilise democracies and threaten global security.
Among those sanctioned are GRU personnel linked to high-profile operations, including the 2022 missile strike on the Mariupol Theatre in Ukraine that killed hundreds of civilians, and the earlier targeting of Yulia Skripal’s device with malware—years before the attempted assassination of Yulia and her father, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, with the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury.
“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty, and threaten the safety of British citizens,” said UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it.”
The UK Government also accused GRU-linked hackers of targeting British media outlets, telecom providers, energy infrastructure, and democratic institutions. It said today’s action was part of a coordinated international response involving NATO, the EU, and allies like the United States.
As part of its defence strategy, the UK will increase defence spending to 2.6% of GDP by 2027—the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.
Beyond Europe, the UK also sanctioned three Russian individuals running the “African Initiative,” a Kremlin-backed disinformation network operating in West Africa. The unit is accused of spreading conspiracy theories and attempting to undermine global health efforts for political gain.
“This decisive action sends a clear message,” Lammy said. “Putin’s hybrid aggression will not weaken our resolve. Our support for Ukraine and European security is ironclad.”
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