Today, the United Kingdom sanctioned known Russian Government-linked disinformation actors responsible for foreign malign influence campaigns, including during this summer’s EU parliamentary elections. The United States welcomes the United Kingdom’s sanctioning of the Social Design Agency (SDA), Structura, ANO Dialogue, Andrey Perla, Nikolai Tupikin, and Ilya Gambashidze. These actions are an important contribution to protecting the integrity of our global information environment.
The United Kingdom’s sanctions on these entities and individuals build upon actions taken by the United States over the last year to hold these actors responsible for their disinformation and propaganda campaigns conducted on behalf of the Kremlin. One year ago, the Department’s Global Engagement Center exposed the SDA, Structura, and their leadership for a pro-Kremlin information laundering scheme in twelve Latin American countries, where Kremlin-produced disinformation was covertly placed in local outlets to appear as genuine news articles. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Ilya Gambashidze, SDA, Nikolai Tupikin, ANO Dialogue, Structura, and others for their role in Kremlin disinformation operations, including the operation colloquially known as “Doppelgänger,” which involved implementing, on behalf of the Russian Federation, a sprawling network of over 60 websites that impersonated legitimate news organizations in Europe, and which used misleading social media accounts.
An open, free, and fact-based information environment is central to a well-functioning democratic society. When malign actors working as tools of the Kremlin exploit and undermine that environment, democracies must respond. This and other recent exposure efforts targeting Kremlin disinformation demonstrate the growing coordination between the United States, the United Kingdom, and our multilateral partners. Together, we will continue to promote accountability for foreign malign information operations that seek to undermine our societies and democratic processes.
