Ayhan Şimşek
13 July 2026•Update: 13 July 2026
Germany on Monday summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest a series of cyberattacks against German institutions and other European countries that Berlin attributes to Russian intelligence services.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said German authorities have concluded that Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is behind the cyber group known as Turla, which carried out attacks on EU member states and Ukraine.
“We summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry this morning over these malicious cyber activities,” Deschauer told reporters in Berlin.
She said that investigations by German intelligence agencies and European counterparts identified the FSB’s “16th Centre” as responsible.
“Based on comprehensive analyses by German intelligence agencies, we were able to prove that this actor — specifically the unit I just mentioned — had also compromised German institutions,” she said.
“And this case is representative of a broader pattern. For many years, we have observed malicious cyber activities originating from Russia and targeting Germany, EU member states, and international partners.”
Deschauer said the EU, in response to the FSB’s malicious cyber activities, has decided to impose new sanctions on several Russian individuals and entities. According to a statement by the EU, the sanctions target several intelligence officers, cybercriminals, self-proclaimed hacktivists, and private companies.
