Vladimir Putin is sending Russian spies deeper into Europe and the UK to try to destabilise the continent with cyber attacks and disruption at ports and airports as punishment for supporting Ukraine, the British government says.
Hybrid warfare activity – which also includes disinformation campaigns, political interference and sabotage of infrastructure – has been deployed by Russia’s GRU military intelligence organisation for years but is being widened and escalated all the time in order to “sow chaos, division and disorder”.
Elite GRU units are targeting sites not only in Ukraine but across Europe where countries are providing assistance to Kyiv, including ports, transport hubs, technology companies, defence and government infrastructure and border crossings, the UK says.
In the UK, Russia has targeted media outlets, telecoms providers, political and democratic institutions, and energy infrastructure.
The Foreign Office said the UK and its allies were “watching Russia and are countering their attacks both publicly and behind the scenes”.
In response, the British government is sanctioning three GRU units linked to the hybrid warfare, as well as 18 named Russian spies who are “responsible for conducting a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity over many years, including in the UK,” the Foreign Office said.
The GRU was suspected of being behind a series of arson attacks on warehouses of the DHL delivery firm in Birmingham and Leipzig in Germany last year. The incendiary devices had been placed in packages on cargo planes which could have exploded mid-air.
The units are also suspected of being involved in political interference in France and Germany – although insiders said UK politics is seen by Russia as a “hard target”.
Announcing the sanctions on GRU units and military intelligence officials, the Foreign Office said the hybrid activity could have “devastating real-world consequences”.
GRU unit 29155 is a specialist training centre, while unit 26165 is accused of conducting online reconnaissance to help target missile strikes against Mariupol in 2022 – including the strike that destroyed the Mariupol Theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were murdered.
A third unit, Unit 74455, is known as the main centre for “special technologies”.
Also sanctioned are Russian spies accused of targeting the computer of Sergei Skripal’s daughter Yulia with malware five years before GRU officers attempted to murder them with Novichok in Salisbury in 2018.
‘African initiative’ sanctioned
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.
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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 full list of those sanctioned:
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 LUKOVENKOHence then, the article about putin s secret agents are targeting uk ports and airports as punishment for ukraine was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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