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.
