Topline
TV station Ukraine 24 falsely reported Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had introduced his nation would give up to Russia, in an episode of disinformation the station attributed to “enemy hackers.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his official residence, the Maryinsky Palace, on March 3, … [+]
Key Details
Ukraine 24 and the Ukraine-based Russian-language tabloid Segodnya printed an announcement, falsely attributed to Zelensky, that Ukraine was “capitulating” and would “surrender arms,” the Every day Mirror reported Wednesday.
Zelensky shortly responded through YouTube, calling the false announcement a “childish provocation” and declaring that Ukraine wouldn’t surrender arms till it had achieved victory in opposition to Russia.
Ukraine 24 Wednesday posted a message on Fb claiming that the false announcement had been positioned by hackers and remarking that Ukraine was unlikely to give up, “particularly in circumstances when the Russian military is defeated in battles with the Ukrainian military.”
Russia has not claimed duty for the alleged hack.
Key Background
Within the weeks main as much as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Russian authorities launched cyberattacks in opposition to Ukrainian banking and protection web sites, the Council on International Relations, an American suppose tank, reported. In March, Russian organizations used malware to launch additional assaults in opposition to Ukrainian Ministry of Protection web sites. Triolan, a serious Ukrainian web supplier, reported being hacked in February and once more March 9, leading to widespread web outages. Russia has supplemented these direct cyberwarfare techniques with on-line disinformation campaigns, spreading conspiracy theories of a supposed U.S. “bioterror lab” found in Ukraine and falsely claiming {that a} Ukrainian maternity hospital bombed by Russia was really a navy heart. Although Russian government-backed retailers like RT and Sputnik have been banned by platforms like YouTube in areas together with the U.S. and the EU, they proceed to function on Twitter, the place they downplay Russian aggression and amplify claims of discord between Ukraine and the West. In February, Twitter announced it could label tweets linking to Russian state-backed media and would restrict their attain.
Chief Critic
In reference to the alleged Ukraine 24 hack, U.Ok. Defence Academy Director-Common Edward Stringer told the Every day Mirror Wednesday that Russia had “let free its most proficient and imaginative criminals” and enabled them to “create hassle wherever on the earth.”