Foreign secretary David Lammy has warned Vladimir Putin that the UK is “coming after” Russia after its “clumsy, ineffective” means to stoke unrest among Brits.
The government unveiled a new raft of sanctions on Monday against three Russian agencies and three senior figures whom, it alleges, have been trying to “undermine democracy” and support for Ukraine.
These new punishments come days after Putin dismissed any claims of Russian interference as “utter rubbish”.
According to the foreign office, a Russian PR firm, Social Design Agency (SDA) is funded by the Russian state along with partner company Structura.
Western officials believe these companies, along with several other PR firms, have “attempted to deliver a series of interference operations designed to undermine democracy and weaken international support for Ukraine”.
The companies reportedly attempted to incite protests in six European countries this year through bots and fake sites, although their efforts have “consistently struggled online”.
SDA was then forced to “consider buying social media views”, according to the UK.
Lammy said: “Putin is so desperate to undermine European support for Ukraine he is now resorting to clumsy, ineffective efforts to try and stoke unrest.”
The senior cabinet minister said these sanctions “send a clear message” to Moscow that the UK “will not tolerate your lies and interference and we are coming after you”.
He added: “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 US, EU, Canada and Australia have also announced action against the SDA today.
MI5 boss Ken McCallum said Russia was guilty of “arson, sabotage and more” in a speech in London earlier this month.
He said: “While the Russian military grinds away on the battlefield at horrendous human cost, Putin’s henchmen are seeking to strike elsewhere in the misguided hope of weakening Western resolve.”