The EU imposed sanctions against 19 people for the first time for hybrid threats from Russia

Today, for the first time in history, the EU Council has decided to impose restrictive measures on 16 individuals and three legal entities responsible for Russia's destabilizing actions abroad. This was announced on Monday, December 16, by the press service of the EU Council, UNN reports.

Details

It is noted that the sanctions were imposed in response to "Russia's malicious actions and its disrespect for the international rules-based order and international law.

The sanctions list includes, among others, GRU Unit 29155, a secret Russian military intelligence unit known for its involvement in assassinations of foreign nationals, bombings, and cyberattacks across Europe.

The EU Council has decided to list the Groupe Panafricain pour le Commerce et l'Investissement, which the EU considers a disinformation network that conducts pro-Russian covert influence operations, in particular in the Central African Republic and Burkina Faso, and its founder Harounou Duambou. 

In addition, the sanctions include the African Initiative news agency , which, as the EU Council pointed out, is engaged in spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation on the African continent, its editor-in-chief and an FSB officer who was involved in coordinating disinformation campaigns in both Europe and Africa, Artem Kureev. Also on the list is a high-ranking GRU military officer who took over the leadership of Wagner's group in Africa after the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Sanctions were also imposed against the Dvynik campaign, a Russian-led digital disinformation campaign aimed at manipulating information and spreading disinformation in support of Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine and directed against EU member states, The Council of the European Union has issued a decision against Sofia Zakharova, head of the Department of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies and Communication Infrastructure, and Nikolai Tupikin, head and founder of the Struktura Group.

Sanctions were also imposed against Vladimir Sergienko, a former parliamentary assistant to German Bundestag member Eugen Schmidt, who, according to the EU Council, colluded with Russian intelligence officers, and Russian entrepreneur Vis Mizayev and his business partner and wife, who played a key role in a Russian intelligence operation against the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), during which top secret information was passed to the FSB.

In addition, restrictive measures have been imposed on individuals who cooperate with the Russian government in France: Russian government official Olesya Miloradovich and Moldovan businessman Anatolii Prizenko, who coordinated the transfer of several Moldovan citizens to France in October 2023.

Sanctioned persons will have their assets frozen, and EU citizens and companies will be prohibited from providing them with funds. In addition, individuals will be subject to a travel ban that will prevent them from entering or transiting the EU.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys suggested that the ministers of the European Union member states jointly appeal to the European External Action Service and the European Commission to approve the EU strategy to counter Russia's hybrid actions.