LONDON >> The U.K. on Friday sanctioned Russian military intelligence units and officers it said were behind preparations for a 2022 bomb attack on a theater in southern Ukraine that killed hundreds of civilians.

Britain’s foreign ministry said it sanctioned 18 officers working for Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, along with three units. It said the officers were also accused of targeting the family of a former Russian spy who was later poisoned in the U.K. with a nerve agent.

More than 70 different attacks since 2022 have been attributed to Russia by Western officials who say the goal is to sow chaos across Europe, undermine European societies and support for Ukraine. The Associated Press has tracked the alleged sabotage and disruption, ranging from cyberattacks and propaganda to arson and attempted assassination.

Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said part of that campaign likely included accessing CCTV cameras near military facilities, ports, train stations and border crossings in Ukraine, Moldova and 11 NATO countries — including in the U.S — to track foreign aid shipments to Ukraine.

“GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilize Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.

On March 15, 2022, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Unit 26165 carried out online reconnaissance on civilian bomb shelters in Mariupol, southern Ukraine and in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, the FCDO said. One target was the Mariupol theater where civilians sheltering from Russian bombs had painted the word “children” outside in the hope of sparing them.

The next day, the theater was hit by Russian airstrikes which killed around 600 people, including many children, according to an Associated Press investigation.