France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK summon Russian envoys over an FSB-orchestrated cyber sabotage campaign spanning a dozen European nations

A coordinated diplomatic protest

France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are each summoning the Russian ambassador on Monday, a synchronized move after European security agencies concluded that Moscow's Federal Security Service (FSB) orchestrated a long-running cyber campaign against roughly a dozen countries. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told BFM TV that France will call in the Russian envoy "in the coming days" and impose sanctions on nine Russian individuals and four entities. A German foreign ministry spokeswoman confirmed Berlin's parallel step, and Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen announced the same after an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.

Today, we will publicly condemn a widespread cyber campaign conducted by Russia that aimed to carry out sabotage and spying conducted against a dozen countries.

The anatomy of the hacks

The operations spanned government networks, critical infrastructure, railways and logistics chains. In Poland the attackers sabotaged power plants, according to Spiegel Online. The Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD disclosed that Russian actors hacked "a small number" of private cameras along routes used to transport military goods, enabling remote surveillance of material destined for Ukraine. The French foreign ministry added that the cybercriminal operations targeted ministries, companies and infrastructure operators, with the goal of "obtaining information or sabotaging the functioning, for example, of railway infrastructure, as happened in Poland."

The message to the Russian ambassador is crystal clear: we see what you are doing, we do not accept it and should you think that this would reduce our support for Ukraine, on the contrary: we will continue to fully support Ukraine.

Sanctions across two jurisdictions

The EU placed nine people and four entities on its sanctions list, while the UK sanctioned 24 individuals and entities. Those targeted include senior officers of Russia's GRU military intelligence service and groups linked to the FSB. Noticias ao Minuto reported that the EU listed 13 people and entities in total. A cluster of the sanctions relates to destabilisation activities claimed against the Paris 2024 Olympic Games; the French foreign ministry confirmed that one sanctioned group had "claimed actions of destabilisation against the Paris 2024 Olympic Games."

The Turla group

A German foreign ministry spokeswoman attributed the campaign to a cyber-espionage group known as Turla, described by a French security source quoted by AFP as "the most technically advanced and most competent Russian group." The EU member states' joint statement said Moscow used an "ecosystem ranging from intelligence services to cybercriminal groups" that penetrated government networks and sabotaged critical infrastructure. The FSB, according to Spiegel Online, controls and directs the groups conducting these attacks, and German authorities confirmed that Russian actors had compromised German state networks.

The attacks do not go undetected, and European intelligence services are also able to identify backers and structures.

Moscow's counter-move

As European capitals moved against Russian diplomats, Moscow summoned Germany's outgoing ambassador Alexander von Lambsdorff to hand him a protest note against Berlin's support for what the Russian foreign ministry called "terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure in Russia." The ministry denounced increasing German military cooperation with Ukraine, the establishment of joint ventures aimed at creating "forces and means for attacks on civilian targets in Russia," and what it described as German propaganda approaching "the worst practices of Nazi propaganda." Lambsdorff departs Moscow on Tuesday for his new post as ambassador to Israel; Clemens von Goetze succeeds him.

The increasing support of Germany for the Kyiv regime is unacceptable.

What comes next

The European Union is also attempting to finalize a 21st sanctions package against Moscow over the war in Ukraine, and the EU foreign policy chief indicated that additional names could be added to the sanctions list on Monday. Barrot stressed that the French sanctions are national measures in parallel with the EU framework. Dutch minister Berendsen emphasized that the steps are coordinated with the Public Prosecution Service to impose European-level sanctions on individuals and organisations involved in the hybrid threat activities, and that the Netherlands will maintain its role as a key pillar of support for Ukraine.