Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
A statement issued by the office of Kaya Kallas, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, condemned Russia's ongoing hybrid campaigns against the European Union, its member states, and its partners.
The statement, distributed in Brussels and a copy of which we received, read: "The European Union remains consistent and unequivocal in its strong condemnation of Russia's ongoing malign activities. These activities form part of broader, coordinated, and long-term hybrid campaigns aimed at threatening and undermining the security and resilience of the European Union, its member states, and its partners.
Over the past years, we have observed a deliberate and systematic pattern of malign behavior attributed to Russia, including its military intelligence service, the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Russia has been conducting hybrid campaigns against the European Union and its member states for years, with these malign activities escalating since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine and very likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Last year, the EU attributed cyberattacks targeting democratic institutions in Germany and the Czech Republic. to the Russian group APT28. In 2025, France attributed cyberattacks targeting the electoral process, the media, and other vital public and private entities to the Russian military intelligence service (GRU). This clearly demonstrates a continuity of malicious intent and represents a blatant disregard for international law and the UN framework for responsible state behavior in cyberspace.
However, Russia's destabilizing hybrid campaigns are not limited to the cyber domain; they also include acts of sabotage, disruption of critical infrastructure, physical attacks, manipulation and interference with information, and other covert or coercive actions. Romania recently attributed a sophisticated hybrid attack that significantly impacted its electoral process to Russia. Germany also recently attributed information manipulation activities by the "RED" media platform to Russia. This follows previous EU sanctions against the same entity. These Russian actions demonstrate deliberate and unacceptable behavior.
Today, the EU stands in full solidarity with the United Kingdom, which announced new restrictive measures in response to operations led by Russian military intelligence, and continues to condemn the concrete threat posed by Russia poses a threat to the security of the UK and its partners, including the European Union. The EU has already adopted restrictive measures against three Russian military intelligence units (29155, 26165, and 74455) and several associated individuals. The EU reiterates that such malign behavior will not undermine our unwavering 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 to support its immediate neighbors, particularly Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, along with its international partners.
In line with this firm and consistent position, the EU will continue to act resolutely through a strategic approach to Russian hybrid threats. This ensures a proactive, coherent, and sustained response, including through disproportionate and proportionate measures in line with international law. We will continue to strengthen our resilience and deepen cooperation with international partners, particularly NATO, while fully respecting agreed principles, and making full use of all available means to effectively prevent, deter, and respond to Russian hybrid activities