The UK has imposed sanctions on Russian military intelligence units and officers, accusing them of orchestrating preparations for a devastating 2022 bomb attack on a theatre in southern Ukraine that claimed hundreds of civilian lives.
Britain’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the sanctions target 18 officers from Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU.
These people are also implicated in targeting the family of a former Russian spy who was subsequently poisoned with a nerve agent.
The units are further accused of conducting a prolonged campaign of cyberattacks across Europe, aimed at destabilising the continent and undermining democratic institutions.
“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.
On 15 March 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Unit 26165 carried out online reconnaissance on civilian bomb shelters in Mariupol, southern Ukraine and in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said.
One of the targets was the Mariupol theatre.
Civilians sheltering inside from Russian bombs had painted the word “children” outside in the hopes they would be spared.
The next day, the theatre was hit by Russian airstrikes which killed about 600 people, including a number of children, according to an Associated Press investigation.
In 2013, officers from the same unit had targeted the daughter of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal with malware, the foreign ministry said.
In 2018, Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury, in an attack the British government said was organised by Russian intelligence.
The sanctions also targeted the Africa Initiative, which the Foreign Ministry said employed Russian intelligence officers to carry out information operations in Africa, including undermining public health programs and destabilising various countries.
Russia’s campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe ranges from cyberattacks and propaganda to arson and attempted assassination.
More than 70 different attacks have been attributed to Russia by Western officials since the invasion.
The military intelligence units sanctioned Friday also targeted foreign aid to Kyiv, ports, infrastructure and border crossings as well as technology companies, the Foreign Ministry said.
Although targeting GRU officers with sanctions is likely to have limited effect, the ministry said the goal is to raise awareness of Russia’s campaign and raise the cost to people working for its services, including making it harder for them to travel.