Cyber attacks are new front in Putin's war, says Cooper

Britain and Europe must urgently unite to fight back against escalating attacks by Russia and other hostile states, Yvette Cooper is set to warn today in a major speech.

- DAVID MADDOX POLITICAL EDITOR

Just 24 hours after Sir Keir Starmer led a mini summit to try to prevent Ukraine being forced into a humiliating deal to get peace with Russia, the foreign secretary will say that ongoing cyber attacks and disinformation are the new front in the war against Vladimir Putin.

Ms Cooper will tell an audience of diplomats that there is an “escalating” danger to the UK and Europe, adding: “Across Europe we are witnessing an escalation in hybrid threats - from physical through to cyber - designed to weaken critical national infrastructure, undermine our interests and interfere in our democracies all for the advantage of malign foreign states.

“By flooding social media with generative AI and manipulated videos, they can gradually undermine support for our major allies like Ukraine with lies - hitting our collective resolve to support Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s illegal invasion.”

It comes just a day after president Volodymyr Zelensky told a meeting in Downing Street on the future of Ukraine that his country cannot survive with European and US backing.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of the talks hosted Sir Keir that he is “sceptical” about details in the US-backed peace proposal for Ukraine. He warned: “This could be a decisive time for all of us, so we are trying to continue our support for Ukraine.