UK Sanctions Russian, Chinese Firms Accused of Information Warfare Activities

The UK announced sanctions against Russian media and ideas outlets on Tuesday as Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper warned that Western nations must enhance their defenses against information warfare conducted by hostile foreign states.

Cooper revealed that the UK is imposing sanctions on three Russian entities: the Telegram channel Rybar, the Foundation for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad—which Estonian intelligence has identified as a front for Russia’s GRU intelligence agency—and the Centre for Geopolitical Expertise, a think-tank operated by far-right Russian ideologue Aleksandr Dugin.

The sanctions package also targets two China-based firms that Cooper described as responsible for “vast and indiscriminate cyber activities against the UK and its allies.” The specific companies were not named in her announcement.

In a policy address at the Foreign Office in London, Cooper outlined the escalating nature of what she termed “hybrid threats” facing Britain and its Western partners. “These threats are designed to weaken critical national infrastructure, undermine our interests and interfere in our democracies,” she stated.

“We should call this out for what it is: Russian information warfare. And we are defending ourselves,” Cooper emphasized during her remarks.

The foreign secretary detailed how these threats manifest in multiple forms, ranging from physical sabotage to sophisticated disinformation campaigns that leverage emerging technologies. She specifically highlighted operations “flooding social media with generative AI and manipulated videos” that aim to erode Western support for Ukraine as it continues to resist Russia’s full-scale invasion, now nearing its third year.

British intelligence officials pointed to several recent examples of such activities, including the creation of fake websites and political advertisements during Moldova’s recent election. They also cited fabricated news sites distributing manipulated videos containing false claims about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, designed specifically to undermine international backing for Ukraine’s defense efforts.

Cooper’s speech coincided with the centenary of the Locarno Treaties, a significant set of diplomatic agreements among European nations that helped stabilize peace in Europe following the First World War. The timing appears deliberate, drawing historical parallels between past efforts to secure European security and current challenges.

The foreign secretary emphasized the critical importance of international cooperation at a particularly uncertain moment in transatlantic relations. With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office raising concerns about America’s commitment to traditional alliances and specifically to NATO, Cooper sought to reassure the public about continued U.S. support.

She revealed she had met with incoming U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Monday, stating that those discussions “were incredibly clear about the strength of the U.S. commitment to NATO.” This represented her first direct engagement with the incoming Trump administration on security matters.

The UK’s sanctions against Russian information warfare entities come amid growing Western concerns about Moscow’s increasingly sophisticated influence operations. Intelligence agencies across Europe have warned that Russia has expanded and refined its disinformation capabilities since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with techniques becoming more difficult to detect and counter.

Experts note that the targeting of Dugin’s think-tank is particularly significant given his influence on Russian geopolitical thinking and his advocacy for an expansionist Russian foreign policy. Similarly, the Foundation for the Support of Compatriots has long been suspected of serving as a vehicle for Russian influence operations in former Soviet states.

The sanctions represent part of a broader Western effort to counter Russian information operations, with similar measures having been announced by the European Union and Canada in recent months.