UK and EU impose joint cyber sanctions on Russian networks blamed for FSB-directed attack on Poland's energy grid

The UK and European Union have announced a coordinated package of sanctions targeting Russian cyber networks, specifically those linked to the FSB (Russia's Federal Security Service) and its Centre 16 intelligence unit. The package is described by the sources as the first joint cyber sanctions announced by the UK and EU together. The sanctions respond to a cyber attack in December 2025 that targeted Poland's energy grid and was attributed to the FSB, as well as a broader campaign of digital sabotage across Europe. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that the measures were aimed at Russia's use of proxy cyber groups to project aggression across Europe. The attack on Poland's electricity grid infrastructure during winter 2025 is the named predicate event. Separately, an advisory from 13 nations has warned of Russian hacks targeting vulnerable routers. The sanctions are coordinated between the UK government and EU institutions, representing a tangible expression of post-Brexit security cooperation in the cyber domain. For commercial lawyers, the energy infrastructure angle is directly relevant: attacks on critical national infrastructure, including electricity grids, engage both regulatory obligations around cyber resilience and potential civil liability questions for operators and their insurers.

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