EU imposes sanctions on Russians over human rights and cybercrime

The EU expanded sanctions to target cybercrime and human-rights abusers, adding VKontakte and its unit over MaxApp — a preinstalled Russian smartphone app the bloc says was used to repress critics.
Companies named Citadel, VAS Experts and Norsi-Trans were sanctioned for supplying a surveillance system that can monitor calls, emails, texts and social media and was used against journalists, opposition figures and minorities.
The measures also hit GRU officers, cybercriminals and firms accused of helping Russia destabilize Europe, with the EU accusing the FSB of controlling multiple cyber threat groups.