The European Union and Britain have publicly attributed a decade-long cyber-espionage and sabotage campaign targeting European critical infrastructure to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) 16th Center. The campaign included attempts to disrupt power grids and defense networks across multiple countries including France, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. A foiled 2026 winter cyberattack aimed to cut power to around 500,000 people in Poland. The 16th Center controls notorious hacking collectives like Turla, and operates in close coordination with criminal hacking syndicates and pro-Kremlin groups. British and EU sanctions have targeted individuals and entities tied to these operations, highlighting Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy blending state intelligence and cybercriminal networks.

The European Union and Britain have publicly attributed a decade-long cyber-espionage and sabotage campaign targeting European critical infrastructure to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) 16th Center. The campaign included attempts to disrupt power grids and defense networks across multiple countries including France, Germany, Poland, and Ukraine. A foiled 2026 winter cyberattack aimed to cut power to around 500,000 people in Poland. The 16th Center controls notorious hacking collectives like Turla, and operates in close coordination with criminal hacking syndicates and pro-Kremlin groups. British and EU sanctions have targeted individuals and entities tied to these operations, highlighting Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy blending state intelligence and cybercriminal networks.