UK sanctions Russian disinformation agency

A Russian state-backed disinformation agency and three of its senior figures have been sanctioned by the UK over their attempts to destabilise Ukraine, the Government has said.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said sanctions had been applied to the Social Design Agency (SDA), three leaders directing its operations, and a partner company, Structura.

The Government said the SDA is tasked and funded directly by the Kremlin, and has attempted to carry out a number of interference operations designed to undermine democracy and weaken international support for Ukraine in its war against Russia, through an online network of fake accounts and websites attempting to spread disinformation.

The three senior figures sanctioned alongside the firms were named as Ilya Andreevich Gambashidze, the founder of the SDA, Nikolay Aleksandrovich Tupikin, the SDA’s chief executive and owner of Structura, and Andrey Naumovich Perla, the SDA’s project director.

The Government has accused the SDA of attempting to incite protests in half a dozen European countries this year alone, and said the two firms and its leadership are responsible for a vast online network known as Doppelganger, which floods social media with fake posts, counterfeit documents and deepfake material.

However, the Government said these interference attempts have struggled to gain traction, and said the SDA has considered buying social media views.

“(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is so desperate to undermine European support for Ukraine he is now resorting to clumsy, ineffective efforts to try and stoke unrest,” Mr Lammy said.

“Today’s sanctions send a clear message; we will not tolerate your lies and interference, and we are coming after you.

“Putin’s desperate attempts to divide us will fail. We will constrain the Kremlin and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

The Government said it was committed to taking action against Russian information manipulation and would continue to take action against anyone it found to be carrying out activities on behalf of the SDA.