The Council of the European Union has added Russian technology group VK and its subsidiary Communication Platform LLC to its sanctions list, alongside three companies that produce equipment for Russia’s System for Operative Investigative Measures (SORM). The designations, published in the EU’s Official Journal, target entities the bloc holds responsible for enabling digital surveillance and the suppression of dissent. The EU stated that the Max messenger application, developed by Communication Platform under the supervision of the Federal Security Service (FSB), is pre-installed on all mobile devices sold in Russia and possesses “extensive” capabilities to monitor communications, track VPN usage, collect data on installed applications, and access user geolocation.

According to the EU’s designation document, the introduction and promotion of Max by Russian authorities was accompanied by pressure on independent applications, including the blocking of WhatsApp and Telegram, and a campaign to restrict VPNs that allowed access to content banned in Russia. The Council asserted that VK, as the parent company, “provides technical support for the repression of civil society and democratic opposition,” including by supplying user data from its platforms to authorities targeting critics of the war in Ukraine. The sanctions also cover VAS Experts, Norsi-Trans, and Citadel—firms that develop and maintain SORM hardware and software, which the EU says is used to monitor internet and mobile communications and to target journalists, opposition figures, and activists.

VK’s press service told the Russian business daily Vedomosti that the EU measures “do not affect the operation of VK and Max” and that applications remain available to users as normal. The company’s response follows Apple’s removal of all VK apps, including Max, from the App Store in late June, a move the US company attributed to sanctions compliance even though VK was not under direct EU restrictions at the time. Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development described Apple’s decision as politically motivated and filed a complaint with the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The ministry also estimated that around 20 million Max users lost access after the app’s removal from the Apple store.

The EU sanctions were announced in parallel with coordinated British measures targeting 24 individuals and entities linked to Russian cyber and hybrid operations, including senior GRU military intelligence officers. Brussels separately sanctioned nine individuals and four entities connected to FSB’s Center 16 for cyberattacks against government networks and critical infrastructure in Ukraine and at least nine EU member states. The EU also blacklisted seven officials from Penal Colony No. 10 in Mordovia, citing “inhuman and degrading treatment” of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including beatings, electric shocks, and denial of medical care. The bloc’s human rights sanctions list now includes 98 individuals and seven entities. The EU is expected to adopt its 21st package of sanctions against Russia in the coming weeks, with a separate list of 250 individuals and legal entities still under discussion among member states.