Ukraine says Russia behind cyberattack in ‘hybrid war’ move

By YURAS KARMANAU
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine says Russia was behind a cyberattack that defaced government websites and it alleged that Russia is engaged in a “hybrid war” against the country. The statement from Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Development came a day after Microsoft said dozens of computer systems at an unspecified number of Ukrainian government agencies have been infected with destructive malware disguised as ransomware. That disclosure suggested the attention-grabbing defacement attack on official websites last week was a diversion. The ministry said “all evidence indicates that Russia is behind the cyber attack. Moscow continues to wage a hybrid war.” The attack comes as the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine looms and diplomatic talks to standoff appear stalled.