European Union and Britain impose unified penalties on Russia in response to state-sponsored hacking operations

Russia's ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, paid his respects at the Soviet War Memorial Tiergarten in Berlin on May 9, 2026, commemorating the 81st anniversary of the 1945 victory against Nazi Germany.

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The German foreign ministry summoned Russia's ambassador on July 13, 2026, to protest cyberattacks targeting the European Union, which has imposed new sanctions against Moscow, along with Britain, over the attacks.

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A ministry spokeswoman stated that the Russian ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry that morning in connection with hostile cyber attacks, as the European Union and Britain targeted Russia with coordinated sanctions over the same attacks.

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The sanctions, imposed by the European Union and Britain, accuse Moscow's FSB intelligence agency of involvement in digital strikes, and come as Western officials warn that Russia has stepped up its "hybrid" campaign to destabilise Europe, four years into the war on Ukraine.

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The European Union is imposing sanctions on nine people and four entities, while Britain is adding 24 names to its blacklist, in a move that targets the Russian state's attempts to sow chaos and division across Europe.

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Those subjected to asset freezes and visa bans include officers of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency and alleged "cybercriminals" working with the Russian state, according to the British government.

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The EU and Britain also stated that a recent attempted cyber attack targeting critical infrastructure in Poland, including the power grid, was the latest move by the FSB's Centre 16 spying hub, which could have caused 500,000 citizens to lose electricity in the depths of winter.

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The British foreign office described the attack as "another example of the Russian state's irresponsible attempts to sow chaos across Europe", and the EU said that several member states were summoning Russian diplomatic representatives to complain about the cyber attacks.

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France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said the attacks targeted government ministries, companies, and service operators, aiming to capture information or sabotage operations, such as rail infrastructure, as was the case in Poland.

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The French foreign ministry added that among the sanctioned targets was a group that claimed destabilising actions against the Paris 2024 Olympics, and the EU stated that several countries, including France, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, and Finland, have been targeted in a campaign stretching back years.

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The FSB's Centre 16 has been accused by Western intelligence agencies of using malware for decades to try to gain access to spy on countries around the globe, and Britain and the EU have been at the forefront of trying to punish Moscow with sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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The EU announced sanctions against 15 individuals and one entity responsible for "serious human rights violations against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees", including Russian national Dmitry Neelov, an official at the Oleenivka prison in the Donetsk region, who was accused of torturing, beating, and humiliating Ukrainian prisoners.