The EU Council has established a new legal framework enabling sanctions against Russia for hybrid attacks targeting EU member states. These measures can be applied in cases where Moscow is found to interfere with or undermine electoral processes, threaten or sabotage critical infrastructure and public services within the EU, orchestrate disinformation campaigns or cyberattacks, or exploit migrants for destabilizing purposes.

This move comes in response to Russia’s continued hybrid operations, which have intensified across several European nations. The newly implemented framework allows the EU to freeze the assets of individuals and companies involved in such activities, and those sanctioned will also face travel and transit bans within EU territories.