The European Union has for the first time officially attributed responsibility to a secret unit of the Russian Federal Security Service — the 16th Center of the FSB — for a large-scale and prolonged malicious cyber campaign targeting EU countries, Ukraine, and other international partners.
According to a statement by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, the FSB’s 16th Center oversees a number of hacker groups, including the well-known Turla group. Under its control, these were not mere “incidents,” but deliberate and sophisticated operations: infiltrating government networks, stealing strategic data, and sabotaging critical infrastructure.
In France, agents of “Center 16” had been spying on key state institutions since 2010, and in 2025 shifted their focus to the defense industry.
In Germany, they targeted government institutions.
In Poland last winter, they nearly carried out a real energy terrorist attack: an assault on heating systems and power plants could have left half a million people without heat and electricity during severe frosts.
The Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Finland, Cyprus, and of course Ukraine were also hit. The geography of the victims speaks for itself: this is systematic aggression against the entire Euro-Atlantic space.
The European Union did not limit itself to words. For the first time in history, joint cyber sanctions with the United Kingdom were imposed. Nine specific individuals and four organizations directly linked to Russian hacking operations were targeted.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas stated firmly and directly: Russia is conducting a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity, relying on an entire ecosystem of special services and controlled groups. Today, Europe is not just defending itself — it is going on the offensive, revealing names and structures.