On the Russian Federation’s hybrid activities in the OSCE region: UK statement to the OSCE
Ambassador Holland highlights escalating reckless hybrid threats against the United Kingdom directed by the Russian Federation.
Thank you, Chair.
The United Kingdom has tabled this current issue today to put on record in this Council recent decisions the United Kingdom Government has taken to safeguard our security from growing hybrid activities by one participating State. I am doing so to provide this information to all States in the spirit of transparency and risk reduction.
By hybrid activities, I am referring to overt or covert actions by another State government which fall short of direct armed conflict with the UK but go beyond peaceful diplomacy and expected statecraft, by harming or threatening the safety or interests of the UK or our allies.
Firstly, I would like to update on the publication of the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry on the 4 December. This Inquiry was commissioned on the circumstances of Dawn Sturgess’ death during the Amesbury poisonings on 30 June 2018. The final report has confirmed what the UK Government has long assessed: that Russia’s reckless use of a military grade nerve agent on UK soil led to the tragic death of a British citizen.
The Inquiry concludes that Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, is responsible. President Putin himself authorised the operation to poison Yulia Skripal and her father with deadly nerve agent Novichok. This Novichok was developed and held by Russia in contravention of the Chemical Weapons Convention, of which Russia is a member. This subsequently resulted in the tragic death of Ms Sturgess.
The UK Government condemns in the strongest terms the Russian Federation’s use of an illegal nerve agent in a British city. This was irresponsible and reckless, with scant regard to the indiscriminate public health consequences.
Moreover, we condemn the Russian Federation’s failure to take accountability since the Salisbury and Amesbury poisonings, and its repeated attempts to deflect blame, causing further suffering to those involved.
The UK has taken measures to respond. We have sanctioned the GRU in its entirety as well as 11 actors behind Russian state-sponsored hostile activity. Eight of these actors were cyber military intelligence officers who targeted the technology belonging to Yulia Skripal with X-agent malware five years before the attempted murder of her and her father.
Chair, this was not a single act of reckless and irresponsible behaviour seven years ago. Across Europe we are witnessing an escalation in hybrid threats – from physical through to cyber. Russian state actors are turning to proxies for their dirty work, including private intelligence operatives and criminals. In the United Kingdom we have experienced arson, sabotage and physical violence. Dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness. And having precisely the opposite effect to what the Russian state intends, in driving increased operational coordination with our partners across Europe and beyond.
Though reckless, this activity is not random. A 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years is a deliberate shift. Last month the Russian spy ship, Yantar, entered UK waters. Yantar crew directed lasers at RAF P-8 pilots, and Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset and other civilian ships in the area experienced GPS jamming. We take this kind of behaviour seriously and will not let it go unchallenged.
Last week, my Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, commemorated the centenary of the signing of the Locarno Treaties in London. As well as announcing further sanctions in response to Russian information warfare, including against Russian media outlet Rybar, she also underlined the UK’s commitment to partnerships, co-operation and renewed multilateralism; to the notion that “we are stronger if we tackle shared threats together”.
Chair, I would like to remind Russia once again of the principles each of our countries signed up to in Helsinki in 1975: sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, inviolability of frontiers. I could go on.
Our message to Russia is this: The United Kingdom is watching. We will defend ourselves and our international partnerships. Any attempts to undermine our security and threaten the safety of our citizens will be met with strong consequences.
Thank you.