UK sanctions Russian spies over ‘campaign to destabilise Europe’

The UK has imposed new sanctions on Russian spies it says are responsible for a years-long campaign of malicious cyberactivity in the UK and elsewhere.

The measures target three units of the GRU military intelligence agency and 18 officers involved in spying and hacking.

The sanctions target a GRU unit that carried out online reconnaissance to help target missile strikes in Mariupol, including the one that destroyed the city’s theatre with hundreds of civilians sheltering inside, the Foreign Office said.

Some of the intelligence officers sanctioned were involved in targeting one of Yulia Skripal’s devices with a malicious malware known as X-agent.

Nerve agent

This was five years before the attempt in Salisbury to poison her and her father Sergei Skripal with the deadly Novichok nerve agent.

“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

“The Kremlin should be in no doubt: we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it.”

He said the UK was taking “decisive action” with the sanctions against Russian spies.

“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.”

Peace talks

Meanwhile, the UK joined the EU in lowering the price cap on Russian oil as Ukraine’s allies sought to increase pressure on Moscow to engage in peace talks.

The cap, which is currently 60 US dollars per barrel, will fall to 47.60 dollars from September 2 in a move Chancellor Rachel Reeves said was aimed at “exploiting” President Vladimir Putin’s “biggest vulnerability”.

Energy revenues account for around 30% of the Russian state’s income, making them a key source of funding for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

Ms Reeves, who is attending a meeting of G20 finance ministers in South Africa, said: “The UK and its EU allies are turning the screw on the Kremlin’s war chest by stemming the most valuable funding stream of its illegal war in Ukraine even further.”

Mr Lammy added the UK would not “stand by” while Mr Putin “continues to stall on serious peace talks”.