A cyber-attack paralysed several Ukrainian government websites on Friday, Ukrainian authorities said. "As a result of a massive cyberattack, the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies are temporarily down," ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko told AFP news agency. The same was true of the Ministry of Education and Science, which announced on Facebook that its website had suffered a "global cyber attack" in the early hours of the morning. The Ministry of Emergency and the presidential cabinet also reported problems with their websites.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured that no personal data had been leaked and that specialists were already working to restore the system to working order. Also, the cyber police have opened an investigation.
In addition to disabling government websites, the perpetrators of the attack left a message in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. "Ukrainians! All your personal data has been deleted and is impossible to restore. All information about you has become public, be afraid and expect the worst," the hackers warn.
At the top of the message is the Ukrainian flag, the national coat of arms and a crossed-out map of the country. The message alludes to the "historical land" of Volyn, Polesia and Galicia. It also mentions the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the military wing of Ukrainian nationalists that fought against the Soviet Union during World War II. The UPA, aiming to harm the Red Army, collaborated and made agreements with the Nazis. "This is about their past, present and future," the hackers say.
Regarding the perpetrator of the cyberattack, the government spokesman said it was "too early to draw conclusions". However, he noted the "long history of Russian attacks against Ukraine" since 2014, when Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula and the Donbas war began. In the summer, Kiev accused Russia of hacking into the Armed Forces' computer network. Earlier, in 2015 alleged Russian hackers hacked into the country's electricity grid, causing thousands of Ukrainians to lose power.
In 2017, the 'NotPetya' computer virus attacked several Ukrainian institutions, including the National Bank. On the other hand, in 2020, an attack paralysed the Treasury, Trade and National Security departments. These have been some of the most relevant cyberattacks that Ukraine has suffered in recent years and for which it has blamed Moscow. Other countries such as the US and the UK have also pointed the finger at the Kremlin.
On the other hand, Ukraine's allies have been quick to speak out. The High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, condemned the attack and backed Kiev. "We will mobilise all our resources to help Ukraine deal with this. Unfortunately, we knew it could happen," he said in the French city of Brest, where EU foreign ministers are meeting to take joint action on the crisis in Ukraine. On the authorship of the attack, Borrell admitted that, in the absence of evidence, he could not blame anyone. "We can imagine who is behind it," he said.
Ann Linde, Sweden's Foreign Minister, called for a "tough, strong and robust" response to the Russian attacks on Ukraine. "We have to be very firm in our messages to Russia," she added.
In this context of "cyberwar", David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes, journalists for The New York Times, reported that Washington and London sent experts to Ukraine in December to prepare the country for such attacks. The US newspaper also noted that "Russian cyberattacks against Ukraine never stopped"; indeed, it indicates that they intensified in December, although public attention focused on the build-up of troops.
According to official figures collected by The Guardian, there were some 288,000 cyberattacks in the first 10 months of 2021, while 397,000 were reported in 2020. In this regard, the Ukrainian national news agency, Ukrinform, states that Ukraine "is among the countries that suffer the most from Russian cyberattacks", although the United States and the United Kingdom have also been the target of such attacks.
This cyber-attack comes shortly after the summit between the NATO Council and Russia in Brussels. This meeting was organised with the aim of reaching some kind of agreement that could improve the critical situation in Ukraine. However, the talks have once again highlighted the wide differences between the two sides as tensions continue to rise in Eastern Europe.
Moscow says the talks have failed, while reiterating that it has no intention of invading Ukraine and calling on NATO to withdraw its troops from countries bordering Russia. If NATO does not respond to its security demands, Russia does not rule out sending troops to Cuba and Venezuela, as Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, reported on national television. The US continues to urge Russia to withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border. In this regard, Washington continues to warn of possible Russian aggression in Ukraine.
With an eye on Ukraine, the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) met in Vienna to discuss the current situation on the continent. Zbigniew Rau, Poland's Foreign Minister, revealed that the current "risk of war" is the highest in 30 years. "For several weeks, we have been facing the prospect of a major military escalation in Eastern Europe," he added.