On Friday 28 July, the Council of the European Union decided to impose sanctions on seven Russian individuals and five Russian entities for conducting a digital disinformation campaign called ‘RRN’ (Recent Reliable News), aimed at distorting information and disseminating propaganda in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
“This campaign, to which government bodies or bodies affiliated to the Russian State have participated, relies on fake web pages usurping the identity of national media outlets and government websites, as well as fake accounts on social media”, explained the EU Council in a statement.
The restrictive measures concern the online media Inforos - closely linked to the Russian military intelligence service (GRU), according to the EU Council - and three of its founders. The Russian NGO set up by the Moscow Department of Information and Technology and closely linked to the presidential administration, ANO Dialog, and its head of strategic orientation, the Institute of the Russian Diaspora, a “front organisation for the GRU”, and two of its founders are also sanctioned, as are two Russian IT companies involved in the disinformation campaign, Social Design Agency and Structura National Technologies, and their founder.
Approximately 1,800 individuals and entities have been sanctioned for their actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
See the legal Act: https://aeur.eu/f/8a5 (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)