Adversary Intelligence — 2026-10-13

Lithuania Calls on EU to Designate Russian GRU as Terrorist Organization After European Sabotage Operations

BLUFLithuania's push to label the GRU a terrorist organization serves primarily as political leverage for narrower sanctions on Russian operatives, since there is almost no chance the EU Council formally adopts such a designation by year-end 2026.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told reporters before the October 12 EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg that the EU should designate Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, and everyone related to it, a terrorist organization 123. Reuters, relayed by Devdiscourse, carried the same call 4. Budrys said the GRU already acts as a terrorist organization in its operations, and he urged additional sanctions on those involved in Russian operations and the war machine 23. The Kyiv Independent linked the GRU to a recent arson attack in Munich and the August drone attack at Leipzig airport, and reported that no Russian entity is on the EU terrorist list, which holds only Islamist groups 1. Budrys blamed the September delisting of two oligarchs, which France, Slovakia and Luxembourg pressed for, for Russian escalation in Ukraine and Europe 1.

Analysis
There is almost no chance the EU Council formally adopts a terrorist listing of the GRU by December 31, 2026. Confidence is moderate: reporting establishes Budrys's call but shows no Council text, no coalition of member states behind it, and no legal basis for listing a state intelligence service. The terrorist list holds only Islamist groups, and France, Slovakia and Luxembourg pressed for September's oligarch delistings, so unanimity looks out of reach. All four items trace to the same pre-meeting remarks, with no primary document or outside confirmation. Vilnius may be using the call mainly as leverage to harden sanctions on GRU officers and networks, a path needing no new legal framework. Further attributed sabotage could sharpen the debate but would not remove the legal obstacle. Governments should plan on existing sanctions regimes and national prosecutions, not terrorism-law asset freezes.
4 sources
  1. Lithuania calls on EU to designate Russia's foreign intelligence agency a terrorist organization - Kyiv Independent
  2. Lithuania says that EU should classify Russian military intelligence as terrorist group - Ukrainska Pravda
  3. Lithuania calls on EU to recognise Russian military intelligence as terrorist organisation - Evropeiska Pravda
  4. EU should designate Russia's GRU as terrorist organisation, Lithuania says - Devdiscourse

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