POLITICS
The European Union has published its 15th sanctions package targeting agents and accomplices of Vladimir Putin’s regime. On Dec. 16, two documents naming a total of 70 individuals and 33 entities were unveiled. They included several “heroes” of The Insider’s investigations. The publication of the sanctions lists occurred shortly before Putin held an annual meeting with representatives from major Russian businesses.
Content
Spies and Kremlin Hybrid Operation Organizers
Propagandists and Media Operators
Suppliers of Western Goods and Arms
The Shadow Fleet
Spies and Kremlin Hybrid Operation Organizers
Sanctions have been imposed on individuals behind the Kremlin’s hybrid operations, disinformation campaigns, and efforts to undermine democratic processes worldwide.
- Vladimir Sergienko. Former assistant to Bundestag MP and AfD party member Eugen Schmidt
As The Insider and Der Spiegel discovered, during his time working for Schmidt, Sergienko was in frequent contact with his handler back in Russia — FSB Colonel Ilya Vechtomov. Sergienko reported on completed tasks, and the two discussed the provision of funding from Moscow.
They also planned and carried out specific actions aimed at furthering Russia’s interests abroad. Vechtomov was responsible for issues related to Ukraine, and one outcome of Sergienko’s work was a lawsuit — filed by Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Federal Constitutional Court — calling for a halt to tank deliveries to Ukraine. According to The Insider and Der Spiegel, Sergienko illegally obtained a German passport but was later stripped of his German citizenship.
Oleg Yeremenko, a GRU officer, also helped promote pro-Russian narratives in Germany and organized protests against aid to Ukraine. He has been included in the new sanctions package as well.
- General Andrey Averyanov and GRU Unit 29155:
GRU Unit 29155 first gained notoriety after the Salisbury poisoning. but had been active orchestrating explosions in Europe since 2011. According to investigations by Bellingcat and Czech outlet Respekt, a Russian military intelligence operation sabotaging weapons depots in the Czech Republic in the fall of 2014 was personally overseen by Averyanov.
Unit 29155 has also been linked to “Havana Syndrome” — a collection of debilitating symptoms suffered by American diplomats, officials, and intelligence agents following mysterious attacks. U.S. intelligence agencies long claimed they had no evidence of foreign involvement in the incidents. However, The Insider revealed that the timing and location of the attacks correlate with travel by GRU operatives from Unit 29155. Two victims reported seeing members of Unit 29155 either before or immediately after the attacks in question, accurately identifying the Russian agents in photographs.
Averyanov’s son, Albert, may also have been involved in these operations. Phone billing data indicates that he was present at the same location as one of the victims during a suspected attack.
- Artem Kureev, an officer of the FSB’s Fifth Service:
According to the EU sanctions documents, Kureev coordinated disinformation operations in Europe and Africa. The Insider found that in October 2023, two months after the death of the late Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kureev announced the creation of the “African Initiative” news agency. A month later, he launched the RusAfro Media portal, which translates its content into all major African languages.
These media outlets amplify Kremlin anti-Western narratives, such as conspiracies about genetically modified mosquitoes and claims that Western pharmaceutical companies use Africa for bio-experiments and drug testing.
- Nikolai Tupikin, head of GK Struktura:
Previously sanctioned by the United Kingdom, Tupikin led Operation Doppelgänger, a bot network disseminating fabricated anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian news on cloned websites impersonating reputable media outlets. As part of the Doppelgänger campaign, the Kremlin also hired individuals abroad to paint antisemitic graffiti. This allowed the bot network to spread pseudo-journalistic articles about a supposed surge in antisemitism in Western Europe.
Due to involvement in Doppelgänger, Sofia Zakharova, an employee of the Russian Presidential Administration, was also sanctioned. The rationale states that she may be linked to projects aimed at discrediting the Russian opposition — the first time this justification has been cited in sanctions documents.
- Anatoly Prizenko, a Moldovan businessman:
Connected to exiled pro-Russian Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor, Prizenko coordinated, under GRU direction, the dispatch of operatives to France to paint Stars of David on buildings in Paris. Doppelgänger bots then spread the news to Western audiences, portraying the graffiti as evidence of rampant antisemitism during anti-Israel protests.
Propagandists and Media Operators
- Tina Kandelaki, TV host:
Kandelaki engages in propaganda justifying Russian aggression in Ukraine. In addition, Kandelaki’s media structures were involved in replacing Ukrainian television channels with Russian ones in occupied territories. The sanctions rationale also mentions Kandelaki’s Apostol PR agency, co-owned with her husband, Vasily Brovko, who is currently Director of Special Assignments at Rostec.
Apostol operates an “internet bot farm” as part of its image-building campaigns. The agency has secured multimillion-dollar contracts from major state companies without any competitive bidding.
Suppliers of Western Goods and Arms
The sanctions list includes several companies involved in supplying Western goods to Russia in circumvention of sanctions — entities The Insider has previously investigated.
- Ostek Group:
Imported Swiss PCB manufacturing equipment into Russia via Poland. Ostek also routed Austrian industrial robots to Russian manufacturers. Customs data disproves their claims of compliance with sanctions.
- UralDronePlant, developer of “Upyr” drones:
The drone workshop emerged between 2022 and 2023, funded with donations collected by Vladimir Tkachuk, a nationalist blogger and creator of the “War Fanatics” channel. According to The Insider, Tkachuk’s operation has been presented as a “wartime Russian startup.” In 2023 alone, the company reported revenues of 3.6 million rubles, finishing the year with a modest profit.
- Asia Pacific Links, a Hong Kong company:
A major intermediary supplying drone components to Russia, as reported by Important Stories. Owned by Russian national Anton Trofimov, the company operates from a nondescript office building in Hong Kong. Since 2017, Asia Pacific Links has delivered components worth at least $12 million, over half of which were shipped after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
- ARCLM International Trading, a Hong Kong company:
Supplies German Arinstein machinery to Russia’s defense industry via Unimatic in Yekaterinburg. Unimatic’s owner, Oleg Fishelov, has ties to a British company, Arpack UK Limited, owned by his father, Igor Fishelov, who is a British citizen.
The Shadow Fleet
The EU has sanctioned 52 ships from third countries that were used to bypass restrictions on the sale of Russian oil at prices above $60 per barrel.
“The Council is adding additional vessels to the list, prohibiting port entry and a wide range of services related to maritime transport,” the EU statement reads.
The Insider has previously reported on the shadow tanker fleet, which enables Russia to trade oil while evading price caps, providing the Kremlin with the funds to sustain its war effort.