UK sanctions Russian spies linked to Mariupol strikes

LONDON — The U.K. has laid a raft of sanctions against Russian military intelligence officers involved in targeting Ukrainian civilians and carrying out cyber attacks against Britain. 

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) named three units of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service and 18 individual spies it said had been acting on behalf of Vladimir Putin.

The units were involved in the bombing of the Mariupol Theatre in 2022 as well as efforts to support the war in Ukraine and destabilize Western allies, according to the FCDO.

The U.K. is placing further sanctions against “African Initiative,” a Russian social media content mill accused of conducting misinformation campaigns in West Africa and undermining public health initiatives with conspiracy theories.

Those singled out for sanctions will have their assets frozen and be banned from traveling to Britain.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said it would send a message from the U.K. that “we see what they are trying to do in the shadows and we won’t tolerate it.”

One of the units sanctioned, Unit 26165, carried out online reconnaissance to help target missile strikes against Mariupol in 2022, including the bombing of the Mariupol Theatre.

Civilians had been using the building as a refuge and placed a large sign spelling “children” in Russian in front of the theatre. Ukrainian authorities estimated 300 people were killed in the attack, while the Associated Press put the number closer to 600.

The same unit is believed to be responsible for high-profile cyber attacks dating back a decade, including data hacks on the German Bundestag in 2015, the U.S. Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016, and Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 presidential campaign.

Unit 26165 also interfered with foreign assistance to Ukraine through targeting ports and transport hubs, according to the British government, while the French government has blamed the unit for cyber attacks during the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Another group, Unit 29155, has been accused of deploying wiper malware known as “WhisperGate” on more than 70 Ukrainian government systems in the build-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Sanctions announced Friday were also directed at spies who infected a phone belonging to Yulia Skripal, the daughter of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, with malware five years before the failed attempt to murder the pair with nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury, England in 2018.  

The FCDO said Russia has targeted media outlets, telecoms providers, political institutions and energy infrastructure in the U.K.

NATO allies issued a statement in support, saying: “We strongly condemn Russia’s malicious cyber activities, which constitute a threat to Allied security” and “we stand in solidarity” with the U.K.’s actions.