Europol and Eurojust said they have dismantled the infrastructure of NoName057(16), a pro-Russian hacktivist network blamed for thousands of distributed-denial-of-service attacks on Ukraine and its allies. The coordinated action, codenamed Operation Eastwood and carried out between 14 and 17 July, took more than 100 computer systems offline and seized large parts of the group’s central servers. Law-enforcement and judicial authorities from 12 European countries, backed by the United States and Canada, conducted 24 searches across Germany, France, Spain, Czechia, Italy and Poland. Two suspects were arrested in France and Spain, while Germany issued six international warrants for Russian-based suspects believed to lead the group; Spain issued a seventh warrant. Evidence was gathered from hundreds of additional servers and devices. Investigators say NoName057(16) initially targeted Ukrainian institutions in 2022 but later focused on supporters of Kyiv, carrying out roughly 2,200 attacks in France and 14 waves in Germany that disrupted about 250 companies and public bodies, including energy utilities, arms manufacturers and transport operators. The collective also hit websites during last month’s NATO summit in the Netherlands and at earlier high-profile events in Sweden and Switzerland. Authorities estimate the network recruited some 4,000 sympathisers via Telegram, paying them in cryptocurrency and using gamified leaderboards to encourage participation. Police have contacted more than 1,000 suspected helpers to warn them of possible criminal liability. Europol says the takedown delivers a major blow to one of the most active pro-Kremlin cyber-disruption operations in Europe.