Russian hybrid threats: EU lists further 21 individuals and 6 entities and introduces sectoral measures in response to destabilising activities against the EU, its member states and international partners

The Council today decided to impose additional restrictive measures against 21 individuals and 6 entities responsible for Russia’s destabilising actions abroad.

NFFF President, Andrew Crook said: “the NFFF are talking to distributors and DEFRA to establish the implications of this development and will update our members when we can”

The Council has also broadened the scope to allow the EU to target tangible assets linked to Russia’s destabilising activities, such as vessels, aircraft, real estate, and physical elements of digital and communication networks, as well as transactions of credit institutions, financial institutions and entities providing crypto-assets services that directly or indirectly facilitate Russia’s destabilising activities.

Furthermore, in light of the systematic, international Russian campaign of media manipulation and distortion of facts aimed at destabilising neighbouring countries and the EU, the Council will now have the possibility to suspend the broadcasting licences of Russian media outlets under the control of the Russian leadership, and to prohibit them from broadcasting their content in the EU.

In line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the measures agreed today will not prevent the targeted media outlets and their staff from carrying out activities in the EU other than broadcasting, e.g. research and interviews.

Today’s listings include Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian politician and businessman who, through his associates Artem Marchevskyi and Oleg Voloshin also listed today, controlled Ukrainian media outlets and used them to disseminate pro-Russian propaganda in Ukraine and beyond. Through secret financing of the “Voice of Europe” media channel – also listed today – and his political platform “Another Ukraine”, Medvedchuk has promoted policies and actions intended to erode the legitimacy and credibility of the government of Ukraine, in direct support of the foreign policy interests of the Russian Federation and disseminating pro-Russian propaganda.

Furthermore, the Council targeted individuals involved in activities aimed at undermining the democratic political process in Estonia (Alik Khuchbarov and Ilya Bocharov, both operatives of Russia’s military intelligence agency – GRU) and Germany, such as the German blogger Thomas Röper, the Russian blogger Alina Lipp, the Turkish media company AFA Medya and its founder Hüseyin Doğru. Private citizens involved in destabilising activities against the EU and partner states were also listed such as Elena Kolbasnikova, Yulia Prokhorova, Rostislav Teslyuk, Andrei Kharkovsky.

Today’s listings notably include two fishing companies, Norebo JSC and Murman Sea Food, which are part of a Russia-state sponsored surveillance campaign that have conducted espionage missions and sabotage on critical infrastructure, including undersea cables.

Furthermore, the Council has listed the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Main Radio Frequency Center” General Radio Frequency Center (GRFC) and its acting director Ruslan Nesterenko, that are responsible for actions of electronic warfare including “jamming” and “spoofing” primarily affecting the GPS signal in Baltic states and disrupting civil aviation. 

In addition, the Council targeted Viktor Lukovenko, the head of listed entity African Initiative, a news agency involved in spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation on the African continent, Justin Blaise Tagouh, CEO of the press group International Africa Media and Mikhaïl Prudnikov have been spreading Russian narrative and anti-western narrative in African countries. Sylvain Afoua, founder of the “Black African Defense League”, a structure dissolved in 2021 by the French authorities for spreading an ideology calling for hatred, discrimination and violence, was also listed.

Among those listed are also Stark Industries, a web hosting service, its CEO Iurie Neculiti and owner Ivan Neculiti. They have been acting as enablers of various Russian state-sponsored and affiliated actors to conduct destabilising activities including, information manipulation interference and cyber-attacks against the Union and third countries.

Those designated today will be subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies will be forbidden from making funds available to them. In addition, natural persons will also be subject to a travel ban, which will prevent them from entering or transiting through EU territories.

In its conclusions of 27 June 2024 and 19 December 2024, the European Council strongly condemned all types of hybrid activities, which are on the rise and target the EU, its member states and partners.

The EU and its member states will continue to draw on the full range of tools available to protect, prevent, deter from and respond to such malicious behaviour. A tailored and sustained approach, proportionate to the ongoing threat is necessary.

The relevant legal acts, including the names of the listed individuals and entities, have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.