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The Kremlin denies Russia’s involvement in cyberattacks on refrigerators in European supermarkets

Riana Gegiu

5 November 2026, 13:46

International

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The Kremlin on Thursday denied any Russian involvement in cyberattacks that have affected supermarket refrigerators in recent weeks and, in France, blood banks. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov described the allegations as “absurd” and “unfounded,” arguing that such claims have become a persistent trend in European countries.

The attacks targeted computer systems controlling commercial refrigerators, and several retailers were forced to discard fresh and frozen products after they began to thaw. In France, incidents were also reported at blood banks, but the national blood collection service said that supplies had not been affected.

Pro-Russian hacker groups claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attacks but later deleted their statements. Experts warn that definitively attributing a cyberattack is difficult. Some indications point to an actor backed by the Russian state, while the firm Sekoia recalls the history of Iran-aligned groups in attacks on supermarkets in the United States and Israel. So far, authorities in the affected countries have not publicly attributed responsibility.

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Context: previous cyberattacks against refrigeration and EU coordination of the response

A few weeks earlier, a cyberattack affected the refrigeration systems of several supermarkets in France, targeting older versions of software supplied by Danfoss and used for the remote monitoring of refrigeration equipment; according to reports, the hackers may have exploited the automatic defrost function, and in some cases temperatures may have risen to approximately 50 degrees Celsius, compromising stocks within a few hours. Problems were reported at Intermarché, E.Leclerc, and Super U, while in Haguenau the losses reported by stores amounted to approximately 270,000 euros, although the national scale was not yet fully known.

Subsequently, after the incidents spread to several European countries, the European Commission convened meetings with ENISA and Europol, as well as national authorities through the EU-CyCLONe network, to exchange information and coordinate the response. However, the investigations remained at the national level, and the Commission did not attribute the attacks to any state or group; in Belgium, a criminal investigation was also opened into the disruption of refrigeration systems reported in stores.