LONDON (AP) — The U.K. on Friday sanctioned Russian military intelligence units and officers it said were behind preparations for a 2022 bomb attack on a theater in southern Ukraine that killed hundreds of civilians.
Britain’s foreign ministry said it sanctioned 18 officers working for Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU. It said the officers were also accused of targeting the family of a former Russian spy who was later poisoned with a nerve agent.
It said the units also carried out a campaign of cyberattacks over many years that aimed to sow chaos across Europe and undermine democratic institutions.
“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
On March 15, 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 British foreign ministry said. One of the targets was the Mariupol theater where civilians sheltering from Russian bombs had painted the words “children” outside in the hope of sparing them.
The next day, the theater was hit by Russian airstrikes which killed around 600 people, including many children, according to an Associated Press investigation.
In 2013, officers from the same unit targeted the daughter of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal with malware, the foreign ministry said. In 2018, 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 organized by Russian intelligence.
The sanctions also targeted Africa Initiative, which the foreign ministry said employed Russian intelligence officers to carry out information operations in Africa including undermining public health programs and destabilizing various countries.
The Associated Press is tracking Russia’s campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe which 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 foreign ministry said the goal is to raise awareness of Russia’s campaign and raise the cost to individuals working for its services, including making it harder for them to travel.
