Ukraine blames Russia for cyberattack as invasion threat looms

Microsoft has detected dangerous malware infecting dozens of government and private Ukrainian computer networks, the tech giant warned Saturday.

According to The Associated Press, the still-unidentified hackers behind the attack also left a message warning Ukrainians to "be afraid and expect the worst."

Ukrainian officials say they have "evidence" that the attack is part of Russia's "hybrid war" against the former Soviet republic, The Guardian reported.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In an interview with CNN, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the allegations, accusing Ukrainians of "blaming everything on Russia," including the "bad weather in their country."

Russia previously launched cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2014, 2015, and 2017.

Talks between the U.S. and Russia broke down around the time of the latest attack, after Russian diplomats refused demands to withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border. Intelligence analysts have warned that Russia is preparing a "false-flag" operation to justify an invasion of Ukraine very soon.