Brussels, 18 July 2025
Also available in French and Russian
Statement of condemnation by the North Atlantic Council concerning Russian malicious cyber activities
- We strongly condemn Russia’s malicious cyber activities, which constitute a threat to Allied security. We stand in solidarity and recognise that Estonia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States have recently attributed malicious cyber activity targeting several NATO Allies and Ukraine to Russia’s military intelligence service (GRU). We recall that in 2024, Germany and the Czech Republic individually attributed activity to APT 28, which is sponsored by the GRU. We also note with concern that the same threat actor targeted other national governmental entities, critical infrastructure operators and other entities across the Alliance, including in Romania. These attributions and the continuous targeting of our critical infrastructure, with the harmful impacts caused across several sectors, illustrate the extent to which cyber and wider hybrid threats have become important tools in Russia’s ongoing campaign to destabilise NATO Allies and in Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.
- We call on Russia to stop its destabilising cyber and hybrid activities. These activities demonstrate Russia’s disregard for the United Nations framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, which Russia claims to uphold. Russia’s actions will not deter Allies’ support to Ukraine, including cyber assistance through the Tallinn Mechanism and IT capability coalition. We will continue to use the lessons learned from the war against Ukraine in countering Russian malicious cyber activity.
- NATO stands for a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace. We call on all States, including Russia, to uphold their international obligations, also when acting in cyberspace, and to act consistently with the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace as affirmed by all members of the United Nations.
- We remain united in our determination to counter, constrain, and contest Russian malicious cyber activities and are investing in our defences; including through the establishment of the NATO Integrated Cyber Defence Centre and upholding our Cyber Defence Pledge commitments as well as through the commitments made in the Hague Summit Declaration.
- We are determined to employ the full range of capabilities in order to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats. We will respond to these at a time and in a manner of our choosing, in accordance with international law, and in coordination with our international partners including the EU.
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Source – NATO
Statement by the EU High Representative Kaja Kallas on behalf of the EU condemning Russia’s persistent hybrid campaigns against the EU, its Member States and partners
Brussels, 18 July 2025
The European Union remains unwavering and unequivocal in its strong condemnation of the persistent malicious activities posed by Russia. These form part of broader, coordinated, and long-standing hybrid campaigns aimed at threatening and undermining the security, resilience and democratic foundations of the EU, its Member States and its partners.
Over the past years, we have observed a deliberate and systematic pattern of malicious behaviour attributed to Russia, including its military intelligence service, the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU). Russia has waged hybrid campaigns against the EU and its Member States for years, with malicious activities further escalating since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine and highly likely to persist in the foreseeable future. Last year, the EU attributed cyberattacks targeting democratic institutions in Germany and Czechia to the Russia-controlled actor APT28. In 2025, France has attributed to the GRU cyberattacks targeting electoral process, media and other public and private critical entities. This clearly illustrates continuity of malicious intent and represents a blatant disregard for international law and the United Nations framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
Russia’s destabilising hybrid campaigns are however not limited to the cyber domain, and also include acts of sabotage, disruption of critical infrastructure, physical attacks, information manipulation and interference, and other covert or coercive actions. Recently, Romania attributed a sophisticated hybrid attack that significantly impacted its electoral process to Russia. Germany also recently attributed the information manipulation activities of the media platform “RED” to Russia. This follows earlier EU sanctions targeting the same entity. These actions from Russia demonstrate deliberate and unacceptable behaviour.
Today, the EU stands in full solidarity with the United Kingdom as it announced new restrictive measures in response to operations led by the GRU and continues to denounce the tangible threat Russia poses to the security of the UK and its partners, including the EU. The EU has already adopted restrictive measures against three GRU units (29155, 26165 and 74455) and multiple individuals linked to the GRU. The EU reaffirms that such malicious behaviour will not undermine our resolute and continued support for Ukraine. The EU remains determined to expose and counter Russia’s hybrid activities targeting the EU and its Member States, and, alongside international partners, to support its immediate neighbourhood, particularly Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
In line with this firm and consistent stance, the EU will continue to act with determination through a strategic approach towards Russia’s hybrid threats. This ensures a proactive, coherent and sustained response, including through asymmetric and proportionate measures in line with international law. We will continue to strengthen our resilience, deepen cooperation with international partners, in particular with NATO in full respect of the agreed principles and make full use of all available means to prevent, deter, and respond effectively to Russia’s hybrid activities.
Source – EU Council
UK sanctions Russian spies at the heart of Putin’s malicious regime
Also available in Español de América Latina, Русский язык, Українська
The UK has exposed Russian spies responsible for spreading chaos and disorder on Putin’s orders.
- UK exposes and sanctions three GRU units and 18 of their military intelligence officers, responsible for spreading chaos and disorder on Putin’s orders
- GRU units exposed for their involvement in the bombing of the Mariupol Theatre, the targeting of Yulia Skripal and cyber operations in support of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine
- action by UK and allies comes amid global threat posed by Russian malign activity
Russian spies and hackers targeting the UK and others are today exposed and sanctioned in decisive action by the UK Government to deliver security for working people.
Today’s measures target three units of the Russian military intelligence agency (GRU) and 18 military intelligence officers who are responsible for conducting a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the UK.
The GRU routinely uses cyber and information operations to sow chaos, division and disorder in Ukraine and across the world with devastating real-world consequences.
In 2022, Unit 26165, sanctioned today, conducted online reconnaissance to help target missile strikes against Mariupol – including the strike that destroyed the Mariupol Theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered.
Today’s action also hits GRU military intelligence officers responsible for historically targeting Yulia Skripal’s device with malicious malware known as X-Agent – five years before GRU military intelligence officers’ failed attempt to murder Yulia and Sergei Skripal with the deadly Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury.
In the UK, Russia has targeted media outlets, telecoms providers, political and democratic institutions, and energy infrastructure. The United Kingdom and our international allies are watching Russia and are countering their attacks both publicly and behind the scenes.
Foreign Secretary, David Lammy said:
GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens.
The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it. That’s why we’re taking decisive action with sanctions against Russian spies. Protecting the UK from harm is fundamental to this government’s Plan for Change.
Putin’s hybrid threats and aggression will never break our resolve. The UK and our Allies support for Ukraine and Europe’s security is ironclad.
The UK government is committed to accelerating its efforts to counter hybrid threats at home, protecting the UK’s national security – a key foundation of the Plan for Change – and abroad, working in collaboration with a growing international coalition including all 32 NATO Allies, the EU and its member states, and our partners in the FBI.
That is why the UK has announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending – rising to 2.6% of GDP from 2027 – since the Cold War, and as highlighted in the National Security Review, the UK is stepping up our focus on tackling hybrid and technology enabled threats. The new UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership will support this, enabling closer cooperation across a wide range of areas.
The Kremlin has also used cyber operations in support of Putin’s illegal war – including targeting critical infrastructure like Viasat satellite communications. Some of these attacks were conducted on the eve of the full-scale invasion in 2022 with the express purpose of degrading Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.
Russia’s insidious activity stretches far beyond Europe. In addition to the GRU Units and officers, the UK is also sanctioning three leaders of “African Initiative”, a social media content mill established and funded by Russia and employing Russian intelligence officers to conduct information operations in West Africa. This includes reckless attempts to undermine lifesaving global health initiatives in the region by pushing baseless conspiracy theories to further the Kremlin’s political agenda.
Background
The Foreign Secretary laid out how the UK is stepping up our approach to combatting Russian hybrid threats in his Mansion House speech. Read more here.
See this factsheet for further information: GRU Cyber and Hybrid Threat Operations
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) NAC statement: Statement of Condemnation by the North Atlantic Council (NAC) concerning Russian Malicious Cyber Activities
EU HR / VP Statement on behalf of the European Union Member States: Hybrid threat / Russia: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU condemning Russia’s persistent hybrid campaigns against the EU, its Member States and partners
Hybrid Threats activity refers to overt or covert actions by foreign governments which fall short of direct armed conflict with the UK but cause harm or threaten the safety or interests of the UK or our allies.
Examples of this include:
- Cyber attacks (e.g. hacking government systems or stealing trade secrets)
- Disinformation (e.g. spreading false or misleading information online)
- Sabotage (e.g. damaging infrastructure or supply chains)
- Political interference (e.g. influencing elections or public opinion)
- More information on the Salisbury Poisonings and the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry can be found here: The Dawn Sturgess Inquiry – Inquiry into 2018 Salisbury poisonings
Below is a full list of those sanctioned today:
- Aleksandr Vladimirovich OSADCHUK
- Yevgeniy Mikhaylovich SEREBRIAKOV
- Anatoliy Sergeyvich KOVALEV
- Artem Valeryvich OCHICHENKO
- The 161st Specialist Training Centre (TsPS) (Unit 29155) of the GRU
- Vladislav Yevgenyevich BOROVKOV
- Nikolay Aleksandrovich KORCHAGIN
- Yuriy Federovich DENISOV
- Vitaly Aleksandrovich SHEVCHENKO
- Ivan Sergeyevich YERMAKOV
- Aleksey Viktorovich LUKASHEV
- Sergey Sergeyevich VASYUK
- Andrey Eduardovich BARANOV
- Aleksey Sergeyevich MORENETS
- Sergey Aleksandrovich MORGACHEV
- Artem Adreyevich MALYSHEV
- Yuriy Leonidovich SHIKOLENKO
- Victor Borisovich NETYKSHO
- Dmitriy Aleksandrovich MIKHAYLOV
- African Initiative
- Artyom Sergeevich KUREYEV
- Anna Sergeevna ZAMARAEVA
- Victor Aleksandrovich LUKOVENKO
In addition, we have brought new evidence to light on the following existing designations:
- The Main Centre for Special Technologies (GTsST) (Unit 74455) of the Russian GRU
- The 85th Main Special Services Centre (GTsSS) (Unit 26165) of the Russian GRU
Source – UK Government