The UK government on Monday, October 28, introduced new sanctions against Russia for trying to undermine and destabilize Ukraine and its democracy. This is stated in a government press release, Ukrinform reports.
«Putin is so desperate to undermine European support for Ukraine that he is now resorting to clumsy, ineffective efforts to try to foment unrest. Today’s sanctions send a clear message; we will not tolerate your lies and interference. Putin’s desperate attempts to divide us are failing. We will contain the Kremlin and stand next to Ukraine as long as necessary“said British Foreign Secretary David Lemmy.
As part of the new package, Britain imposed sanctions on three Russian agencies and their senior managers trying to undermine and destabilize Ukraine and its democracy.
It is noted that the Russian IT company Social Design Agency (SDA) receives tasks and is funded directly by the Russian authorities.
Together with their partner company Structura, they attempted to carry out a series of intervention operations aimed at undermining democracy and weakening international support for Ukraine.
The SDA has also attempted to incite protests in six European countries this year. However, despite the Russians pouring money into the activities of these malicious organizations, their bots and fake websites have only limited interaction.
This has even forced the SDA to consider buying views on social media.
In addition, these firms and their managers are responsible for a huge malicious online network, also commonly known as “Doppelganger”, which floods social networks with fake messages, fake documents and deepfakes.
This tactic is intended to mask the truth about Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and divert attention from the true nature of the war.
It is noted that the covert actions of Russian companies are part of a coordinated attempt to use deceptive information operations to undermine democracy to achieve their goals.
The department said these new sanctions demonstrate that no matter how desperate Russian interference has become, the UK is committed to taking action against Russia’s manipulation of information.
