EU and UK sanction Russia for cyber attacks on European infrastructure

The European Union and the United Kingdom announced a coordinated sanctions package against Russia, accusing Moscow of a wide‑scale cyber campaign intended to sow chaos and division across Europe. The United Kingdom imposed sanctions on 24 individuals and entities linked to Russian intelligence services, while the EU listed 13 persons and organisations, including officers of the GRU. Both parties identified the FSB’s “Center 16” as the unit behind a failed cyber‑attack on Poland’s electricity grid that temporarily cut power to about 500,000 people during the winter.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and UK foreign minister Yvette Cooper condemned the operations, describing them as hybrid attacks that threaten European security. France and Germany summoned Russian ambassadors for explanations, joining Germany’s call for the Russian envoy in Berlin and France’s plan to call the Russian ambassador in Paris. The sanctions impose asset freezes and travel bans on the designated targets.

The measures mark the first joint attribution of a Russian intelligence service to a cyber‑attack on critical infrastructure and signal a tougher diplomatic response to state‑sponsored cyber aggression.