UK sanctions Russian and Chinese firms suspected of being ‘malign actors’ in information warfare

LONDON — Britain announced sanctions against Russian news and media outlets on Tuesday, as Britain’s top diplomat warned Western countries must raise their game to combat information warfare waged by “malicious foreign states”.

Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper said the UK was imposing sanctions on the Telegram Rybar microblogging channel, the Foundation for Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad – described by Estonian intelligence as a front for the GRU spy agency – and the Center for Geopolitical Expertise, a think tank run by far-right Russian writer Aleksandr Dugin.

Two China-based companies were also sanctioned “for their extensive and indiscriminate cyber activities against the UK and its allies”, Cooper said.

In a speech at the Foreign Office in London, Cooper said Britain and its allies were facing an “escalation of hybrid threats… designed to weaken critical national infrastructure, undermine our interests and interfere in our democracies.”

“We should denounce this for what it is: a Russian information war. And we are defending ourselves,” Cooper said.

She said threats include physical attacks such as sabotage as well as disinformation campaigns “flooding social media with generative AI and manipulated videos” aimed at undermining Western support for Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion.

British officials point to fake websites and political ads during Moldova’s recent elections, as well as fake news sites spreading videos containing false claims about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife, intended to undermine support for Ukraine.

Cooper gave his speech to mark 100 years since the signing of the Treaties of Locarno, a set of agreements between European nations that strengthened peace in Europe after the First World War.

She highlighted the importance of international cooperation as US President Donald Trump upends long-established alliances and sows doubt about the US commitment to NATO.

Cooper, who met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Monday, said those discussions “were incredibly clear on the strength of the U.S. commitment to NATO.”