UK sanctions Russia’s GRU agency and cyber spies over deadly nerve agent attack

The UK has imposed sanctions on the GRU (Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation) and 11 identified officers after a public inquiry found GRU responsibility for the 2018 Novichok poisoning in Salisbury. The Foreign Office asserts the GRU regularly conducts hybrid operations — including cyberattacks and disinformation — and the sanctions freeze UK assets of the designated entities and increase legal powers to disrupt GRU activities.