EU on Russia’s hybrid threats: ‘such malicious behaviour will not undermine our resolute and continued support for Ukraine’

The EU remains determined to expose and counter Russia’s hybrid activities targeting the EU and its Member States, and, alongside international partners, to support its immediate neighbourhood, particularly Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said in a statement released on 18 July. 

The statement was made in support of the United Kingdom announcing new restrictive measures in response to operations led by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), the foreign military intelligence agency.

“Russia has waged hybrid campaigns against the EU and its Member States for years, with malicious activities further escalating since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine and highly likely to persist in the foreseeable future,” Kaja Kallas said.

Last year, the EU attributed cyberattacks targeting democratic institutions in Germany and Czechia to the Russia-controlled actor APT28. In 2025, France attributed to the GRU cyberattacks targeting the electoral process, media and other public and private critical entities. 

“This clearly illustrates continuity of malicious intent and represents a blatant disregard for international law and the United Nations framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace,” said Kallas.

She said Russia’s destabilising hybrid campaigns were not limited to the cyber domain, and also included acts of sabotage, disruption of critical infrastructure, physical attacks, information manipulation and interference, and other covert or coercive actions. Recently, Romania attributed a sophisticated hybrid attack that significantly impacted its electoral process to Russia. Germany also recently attributed the information manipulation activities of the ‘RED’ media platform to Russia. 

“These actions from Russia demonstrate deliberate and unacceptable behaviour,” Kallas said. “The EU reaffirms that such malicious behaviour will not undermine our resolute and continued support for Ukraine.” 

The EU has already adopted restrictive measures against three GRU units (29155, 26165 and 74455) and multiple individuals linked to the GRU. 

According to Kaja Kallas, the EU will continue to act with determination through a strategic approach towards Russia’s hybrid threats, ensuring “a proactive, coherent and sustained response, including through asymmetric and proportionate measures in line with international law”.

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