EU imposes sanctions on three Russian intelligence officers over 2020 cyberattack on Estonia
Pravda Ukraine
On 27 January, the Council of the European Union introduced additional restrictive measures against three officers of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) involved in the 2020 cyberattack on Estonia.
Source: European Pravda, citing the EU Council’s statement
Details: The EU sanctions target Russians Nikolay Korchagin, Vitaly Shevchenko and Yuriy Denisov, who are officers of Unit 29155 of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia, commonly known as the GRU.
Unit 29155 is reportedly responsible for cyberattacks against Estonia and other EU member states and partners, including Ukraine, as well as for assassinations abroad and destabilising actions such as explosions and cyberattacks across Europe.
The sanctions were imposed under a separate regime addressing malicious cyber activities, which currently includes 17 individuals and four business entities.
The large-scale cyberattack on Estonia in 2020 resulted in Russian military intelligence hackers obtaining significant amounts of internal-use information, including commercial secrets.
As part of the investigation into the cyberattack, Estonia’s Central Criminal Police secured a court order in September 2024 for the arrest of the three GRU officers linked to these malicious activities.
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