As diplomatic and economic tensions between Russia and the West continue to escalate, new fronts have emerged in the ongoing standoff—stretching from the boardrooms of Brussels to the server rooms of Liverpool. On September 16, 2025, the International Working Group on Sanctions against Russia unveiled an ambitious set of proposals designed to ramp up pressure on Moscow and push it toward agreeing to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Just one day later, Liverpool City Council in the UK publicly revealed it had been the target of repeated cyber attacks by a Russian state-linked hacking group over the past two years. Together, these developments underscore the multi-faceted nature of the confrontation with Russia, where economic levers and digital warfare are now as critical as any battlefield maneuver.
According to the official website of the President of Ukraine, the International Working Group’s latest document—number 23, titled "New sanctions to force Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine"—lays out a comprehensive roadmap for the European Union and the G7. The proposals are sweeping. They include additional sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and financial sectors, the confiscation of frozen Russian assets, and tough new restrictions on Moscow’s access to Western military technologies. The document’s authors are clear about their priorities: "accelerated cessation of purchases of Russian energy carriers, closing circumvention schemes through the shadow fleet and third countries, tighter control of financial channels."
One of the most striking recommendations is the call to finally halt the purchase of Russian energy carriers. The group proposes further action against the so-called "shadow fleet"—the clandestine network of tankers and infrastructure that Russia uses to skirt existing sanctions and continue exporting oil. They suggest introducing sanctions on the remaining tankers and associated logistics, as well as creating an escrow mechanism. Under this system, proceeds from Russian energy exports would be held in a special bank account, effectively blocking Moscow from accessing the funds until it meets certain conditions.
But that’s not all. The group also recommends imposing secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries that persist in buying Russian oil, as well as a phased embargo on Russian ports and energy infrastructure. In the financial sector, the roadmap calls for restricting the activities of all Russian banks, strengthening oversight of cryptocurrency transactions, and imposing personal sanctions on officials from the Russian Ministry of Finance, board members of the Central Bank, and the heads of major state banks that support the war effort. As the roadmap makes clear, "every month of delay means billions of dollars for the war against Ukraine."
On the military technology front, the proposals urge tighter export controls on critically important goods and equipment, expanding the list of restricted items, introducing end-user verification, and preventing circumvention of sanctions through third countries. The message is unmistakable: the West must act swiftly and in unison if it hopes to choke off the Kremlin’s ability to finance and sustain its military campaign.
Yet, as is so often the case in international affairs, the devil is in the details—and in the politics. According to UNN, the European Union has decided to postpone the official submission of another package of sanctions against Russia. The reason? U.S. President Donald Trump has reportedly demanded stricter European measures as a prerequisite for the United States to move forward with its own sanctions. This transatlantic tug-of-war has introduced fresh uncertainty into the process, leaving policymakers scrambling to align their approaches while the clock ticks on.
While the economic and diplomatic machinery grinds on, another, less visible, front in the conflict has come into sharp focus: the digital battlefield. On September 17, 2025, Liverpool City Council announced it has been under sustained attack by the Russian state-funded hacktivist group Noname057(16) for the past two years. As reported by BBC, these so-called hacktivists have used bots in repeated attempts to infiltrate or disable the council’s IT systems. "Noname057(16) is a state-linked Russian hacktivist group that attacks western targets, mostly government, military, transport and health," a council report stated. "We have experienced many attacks from this group and their allies using their Distributed Botnet over the last two years."
The council’s audit committee is set to scrutinize a report warning that bot attacks could lead to the "takedown of public-facing services like council websites." Such disruptions, while not as headline-grabbing as a missile strike or a tank offensive, can have real-world consequences for citizens who rely on digital services for everything from paying bills to accessing social support. The report also notes, however, that Liverpool City Council has not suffered a "successful ransomware attack"—where criminals extort money by hijacking IT services—for nine years, a testament to the robustness of its security systems.
"Denial of Service attacks for monetary or political reasons is a widespread risk for any company with a web presence or that relies on internet-based systems," the council’s report cautioned. To mitigate these risks, the council says it employs a range of systems aimed at reducing the impact of such attacks on its web infrastructure. It’s a cat-and-mouse game, with defenders constantly racing to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated attackers.
The timing of these revelations is no coincidence. As Western governments debate how best to squeeze the Kremlin financially, Russia’s cyber operatives are probing for weaknesses in the digital armor of their adversaries. The overlap between economic sanctions and cyber warfare is no accident: both are tools designed to undermine an opponent’s capacity to wage war and project power. But both come with risks of escalation and unintended consequences.
For policymakers in Brussels, Washington, and London, the challenge is to coordinate responses across domains—economic, diplomatic, and digital—without stumbling into missteps that could backfire or sow divisions among allies. The International Working Group’s roadmap is explicit in its call for speed and unity, warning that delays only serve to "fund the war against Ukraine." Meanwhile, the experience of Liverpool City Council is a reminder that the frontlines of this conflict are everywhere: not just in the trenches of eastern Ukraine, but also in the offices and server rooms of local governments across Europe.
As the standoff with Russia enters a new phase, the stakes continue to rise—not just for Ukraine, but for the resilience and cohesion of Western societies themselves. Whether through sanctions or cybersecurity, the coming months will test the ability of democracies to act decisively and in concert, even as the battlefield shifts beneath their feet.
