Russia today denied France's accusations that it had conducted an alleged campaign of cyberattacks against European countries, saying that Paris was trying to revive the "myth of the Russian threat", Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
France summoned the head of the Russian embassy in Paris last month over a similar incident.
"It is no secret to anyone that the authorities in Paris are not only purposefully building the image of Russia as an enemy, but are also trying to attribute to it their own numerous mistakes and failures, be it in the economy or in foreign policy," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, adding: "The attempts of the State Agency for Combating Foreign Interference in Cyberspace "Vizinum" (Viginum) to accuse Russia of interfering in the campaign for the presidential elections next year does not surprise us at all. We see that for many candidates, the fight for the presidential post implies, as an element of the "mandatory program", making loud statements about combating the "Russian threat" and supporting the Kiev regime".
"The "Viginum" report is just one of the many "fake news" with the help of which the authorities will try to manipulate the minds of the population. "In general, I would like to hope that the majority of French citizens will show common sense and will not allow themselves to be misled by such vile anti-Russian propaganda," the spokeswoman added, quoted by TASS.
On July 17, the Russian chargé d'affaires in France, Alexander Zezyulin, was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry, where he stated that Paris's accusations against Moscow of carrying out cyberattacks were not supported by evidence and were published on the very day of the meeting of the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" in support of Ukraine, TASS reports.
On July 13, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced plans to introduce new sanctions against a number of individuals and organizations that, according to Paris, are linked to alleged recent cyberattacks in Europe that Paris attributes to Russia. According to Barrot, these actions were directed against "ministries, companies and operators" and in one case against the Polish railway network.
According to him, this campaign affected a dozen European countries, including France, but more specific data on the damage caused were not disclosed.
On the same day, the European Union imposed sanctions against 9 individuals and four organizations from Russia for alleged cyberattacks. The sanctions include a ban on entry into the EU and a freezing of the bank assets of the individuals and organizations in the bloc, TASS notes.