Vladimir Putin receives Ukrainian gifts for his birthday
While celebrating his 72nd birthday on Monday, October 7, Vladimir Putin received some unpleasant "gifts" from Ukraine, including a refinery fire and a cyberattack on a state media outlet.
A hacker group based in Kyiv targeted VGTRK, a Russian state media company, affecting its online streaming service and other internal operations, according to Gazeta.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed support for the media outlet and confirmed that experts were working to identify the culprit behind the attack. "Our state media holding, one of the largest, has faced an unprecedented hacker attack on its digital infrastructure," he said.
While Kyiv has not officially claimed responsibility for the cyberattack, a Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously, indicated that a large-scale assault had indeed been carried out against Russia. "Ukrainian hackers congratulated Putin on his birthday by carrying out a large-scale attack on the all-Russian state television and radio broadcasting company," the source told Politico.
The same day was also marked by a fire at a refinery in Crimea, which was reportedly targeted remotely by Ukrainian drones.
(QG - Newsweek / The Independent / Politico / Gazeta / Picture: © Pixabay)