UK is under attack from Putin’s cyber army, warns Yvette Cooper
Britain and Europe must urgently unite to fight growing attacks from Russia and other hostile states, Yvette Cooper will warn in a major speech on Tuesday.
Just 24 hours later Sir Keir Starmer held a mini summit to try to prevent Ukraine is being forced into a humiliating agreement The Secretary of State will say that ongoing cyber attacks and disinformation are the new front in the war against Russia to ensure peace with Russia. Vladimir Putin.
Ms Cooper will tell an audience of diplomats there is a “growing” danger to the UK and Europe, adding: “Across Europe, we are witnessing a rise in hybrid threats – from physical to cyber – designed to benefit malevolent foreign states to weaken critical national infrastructure, undermine our interests and interfere with our democracies.
“By flooding social media with prolific AI and manipulated videos, they can slowly undermine support for our major allies like Ukraine with lies and undermine our collective resolve to support Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s illegal occupation.”
This came just a day after President Volodymyr Zelensky told a Downing Street meeting on Ukraine’s future that his country could not survive on European and US support.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of talks hosted by Sir Keir that he was “skeptical” about the details of the US-backed peace proposal for Ukraine.
He warned: “This could be a defining time for all of us, which is why we seek to continue our support for Ukraine.
“We are still strongly behind Ukraine and will remain so because we all know that the fate of this country is the fate of Europe.”
Ms Cooper’s speech comes against a backdrop of disinformation on social media being used in America and Europe to undermine support for NATO and the war in Ukraine.
His speech also comes as the UK and EU are locked in talks over the depth of a new defense deal to confront threats, with strong disagreements over how much the UK should pay.
The comments came less than a week after the report into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury said Putin bore “moral responsibility” for the attack, which also claimed the life of Dawn Sturgess.
Ms. Cooper will note that the so-called free speech debate has overshadowed efforts to combat Russian disinformation. But he will insist that the two issues are separate.
He will say: “This is not about legitimate debates on contentious issues. Many people in the UK have strong views on immigration, gender and climate. But these are our debates, not foreign states using them as a playground to sow division to advance their own interests.”
Last year the UK suffered around 7.8 million cyber attacks, equating to around 21,000 per day, mostly from Russia, China, North Korea and other hostile states.
Major cyber attacks that have hit the NHS, media companies, Jaguar Land Rover and Marks and Spencer in recent months have caused major economic and social damage.
Ms Cooper’s speech will mark the centenary of the historic Treaty of Locarno, which aimed to secure post-World War I peace and borders in Europe; The Secretary of State will warn in the room named after this agreement that a new version is needed for the 21st century.
But laying out the much wider threat posed by Moscow, Ms Cooper will say information warfare designed to undermine infrastructure and interfere with democracies is the new frontier of international conflict and poses significant threats to Britain and its allies.
“A hundred years ago, such malicious actors or state-sponsored separatists may have relied on expertly crafted forged documents or carefully planted stories to manipulate public opinion, but today’s technology is lowering the barrier to entry, meaning more actors with less skills can work on behalf of regimes abroad,” he will say.
“They could undermine Western interests by interfering with free and fair elections.”
President Zelensky, as well as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, attended the talks in Downing Street, chaired by Sir Keir.
These statements come amid growing concerns about the peace deal Donald Trump is trying to broker with Russia; In the background was anger over Maga supporters’ continued support for Ukraine.
Fears have grown that the deal will humiliate Ukraine and force it to give up too much territory and the right to self-defense.
Sir Keir and his German and French counterparts are trying to form a coalition of the willing to ensure Ukraine is protected in the future.
It is hoped that the results of the meeting can be used to persuade President Trump to change his stance.
