Yvette Cooper issues sanctions against Russia amid accusations of ‘information warfare’
Yvette Cooper accused Russia of waging “information warfare” while announcing sanctions against several Moscow-linked entities.
The Foreign Minister stated that Russian institutions were responsible for “vast malicious online networks” that spread disinformation across Europe.
Speaking at the Foreign Office, Ms Cooper said: “This is not about legitimate debates on contentious issues. We have wide-ranging debates on many issues with strong views on all sides, but this is about state-sponsored organizations with evil aims who want to harm us.”
“So we have to call it what it is: Russia’s information war, and we’re defending ourselves.”
Announcing the sanctions against media outlet Rybar and its co-owner Mikhail Sergeevich Zvinchuk, the media claimed that the Telegram channel and its 28-language affiliate network “reached millions worldwide using classic Kremlin manipulation tactics, including fake investigations and AI-driven content.”
“Masking itself an independent agency, Rybar is actually partially coordinated by the presidential administration and receives funding from the Russian state company Rostec and works with members of Russian intelligence services.”
He also announced that he would impose sanctions on Pravfond Euromore and Golos, which he said were fronts for Estonia’s GRU intelligence agency.
“Leaked reports indicate that Pravfond financed legal defenses for convicted Russian assassins and arms traffickers, as well as pushing Kremlin narratives to Western audiences,” Ms. Cooper said.
Pravfond allegedly funneled money to Euromore and Golos, which the State Department said were “nominally independent news sources” that concealed their ties to the Russian state and spread “Kremlin propaganda targeting Ukraine.”
He also announced that action would be taken against the “Moscow-based so-called think tank” Geopolitical Expertise Center and its founder Aleksandr Dugin, whose “work closely guides Putin’s calculations”.
The center’s senior leaders are involved in Storm-1516, a “malicious influence network producing content designed to generate support for Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine.”
It also announced legal action against “two of the worst” China-based companies, i-Soon and Integrity Technology Group, for “sophisticated and indiscriminate cyber activities” against the UK and its allies.
Ms Cooper said: “Our message to those who seek to harm us is clear: We see you in the shadows, we know what you are doing and we will defend ourselves.”
