The European Union and the United Kingdom on 13 July 2026 announced a coordinated package of sanctions against Russian individuals and entities, while France, Germany and Finland summoned Russian ambassadors in response to what European officials describe as a years-long campaign of cyberattacks and hybrid operations across the continent. The EU blacklisted nine individuals and four entities, and London added 24 names to its sanctions list, in what the British government called the first joint cyber sanctions package with the EU since Brexit. The measures target officers of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service, alleged cybercriminals working as proxies for the state, and the leadership of the Rybar media project, which London accuses of spreading anti-Ukraine disinformation and interfering in European elections.

According to statements from the EU’s foreign policy chief and the French and German foreign ministries, the malicious activity is attributed primarily to Centre 16 of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), which is said to control several cyber threat groups including the Turla malware operation. European officials assert that the campaign has struck at least nine member states—among them France, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Cyprus and Finland—targeting government ministries, defence contractors, railway infrastructure and energy grids. The British Foreign Office highlighted a failed attempt to disrupt Poland’s power grid in winter 2025 that, it said, could have left 500,000 civilians without electricity. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated that the operations aimed “either to capture information or to sabotage the functioning, for example, of railway infrastructures, as was the case in Poland.”

Viewed from Moscow, the accusations are part of a pattern of unsubstantiated Western allegations. The Russian foreign ministry had earlier on 13 July summoned the German ambassador, though it did not specify the reasons; the move came after Berlin had called in Russia’s envoy in June 2025 over alleged persecution of Russian journalists and in April 2024 over suspected espionage. President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2026, dismissed European claims of Russian sabotage and cyberattacks as an attempt to justify “aggressive plans” against Russia. The Kremlin has not yet issued a formal response to the latest summonses, but its consistent position, as articulated by spokesman Dmitry Peskov, is that European governments “blame Russia for everything” without providing evidence.

The diplomatic and sanctions push unfolded as French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a summit of the “Coalition of the Willing” in Paris, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other leaders present to discuss security guarantees and military support for Kyiv. European officials in Brussels and London frame the cyber campaign as an integral element of Russia’s broader hybrid warfare, which they say has intensified over four years of conflict in Ukraine. The EU is simultaneously working to finalise a 21st sanctions package against Moscow, with foreign ministers expected to add further names to the blacklist. The dossier remains active, with the French and Finnish summonses still pending and the EU signalling that additional restrictive measures may follow.