Paris - The French government accused a hacker group related to Russian military intelligence, targeting the Paris Olympics, French government agencies and companies for three years.

A report released on Tuesday by French cybersecurity agency ANSI outlines cyber incidents from 2021 to 2024 and attributes it to an organization called APT28, also known as Fancy Bear. The report said hackers aim to gather intelligence, especially in the context of Russia's war in Ukraine.

France is one of Ukraine's most voiced supporters, and its government is working to ensure that the ultimate U.S. peace agreement does not further incite Russia and threaten Europe's security.

The French Foreign Ministry said the hackers were linked to the Russian military intelligence agency GRU and targeted French entities, including “sports organizations related to the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics program.” It did not identify the organization or detail the impact of network patterns.

Other goals include participation in aerospace, finance, national government ministries and local government goals, the Cybersecurity Agency said. It didn't name them.

In 2023 and 2024, more than a dozen reports pointed out that Russia has undermined France through its efforts to disinformation, especially the Paris Olympics. Russian athletes have been restricted from participating in the Olympics for years due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and state-sponsored stimulants.

Russia's embassies in France and the Kremlin denied any intervention in the Paris Olympics.

"Gru's goal of the Olympics is people's attacks on it... Although the Olympics are a powerful symbol of international cooperation, they are still the targets of malicious intelligence operations," said John Holquist, chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, in response to the French announcement.

APT28 and GRU are also linked to global cyber invasions, including in the 2016 U.S. election, where they were accused of helping Donald Trump by leaking Democratic emails.

The French Foreign Ministry named specific GRU units 20728 units, lagging behind 2021-2024 cyber attacks. The Cybersecurity Agency report also mentioned unspecified attacks on Ukrainian entities in Europe and elsewhere in North America.

"These unstable activities are unacceptable and not worthy of the permanent members of the UN Security Council," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Along with its partners, France is determined to use all means to predict, dissuade and respond to malicious behavior in cyberspace."

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London-based Associated Press writer Kelvin Chan contributed to the report.