The Kremlin has strongly dismissed speculation that Moscow orchestrated a wave of cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigeration units across Europe, which spoiled millions of euros worth of food.

Over the past three weeks, hackers gained remote access to cooling systems in nearly 100 stores across 11 countries, including Belgium, Sweden, Germany, and the UK, maliciously overriding temperature settings and turning freezers up as high as 55°C (131°F).

While European Union officials have categorised the incidents as a deliberate attempt to disrupt the continent’s food supply network, they have not officially attributed the breaches to a specific state or actor.

Despite official denials, suspicion has mounted following online posts on Telegram where pro-Russian hacktivist groups NoName057(16) and Z-Pentest Alliance claimed joint responsibility for the attacks. However, those posts have since been deleted.

The claims have intensified scrutiny regarding possible state links. Cyber threat researchers told the that a Russian-associated group was “very likely” behind the disruption, pointing to similar past incidents, such as freezer hacks at several US military bases in August and a 2024 cyberattack on a California meat processing plant’s refrigeration systems attributed by the US Justice Department to pro-Russian actors.

During a daily briefing, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations outright when questioned by reporters about reports linking pro-Russian actors to the grocery store hacks. “These are absurd claims,” Peskov told reporters, adding that they were “backed up by absolutely no reasoning, no evidence whatsoever, and yet here we have such baseless accusations against our country, implicating it in everything.”

Independent cybersecurity experts remain somewhat sceptical of the hacktivists’ claims, warning that groups like NoName057(16) may simply be attempting to capitalise on high-profile disruptions for publicity. The group has previously established a reputation for conducting disruptive DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attacks against government websites and critical infrastructure in NATO-aligned nations since the conflict in Ukraine began in 2022.

As European authorities continue to investigate the operational technology breaches alongside a wave of separate transport hoaxes, analysts are examining whether the digital intrusions form part of a broader co-ordinated effort to test critical Western infrastructure.

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