Russia: Hacked radio stations broadcast Putin's fake speech about Ukrainian 'invasion'

Europe 1 , with AFP / Photo credit: Pavel BEDNYAKOV / SPUTNIK / AFP 16:17 p.m., June 05, 2023, modified at 16:18 p.m., June 05, 2023

Several Russian radio stations, victims of "hacking", broadcast on Monday a false speech by President Vladimir Putin reporting a Ukrainian "invasion" and announcing the establishment of martial law in the border regions of Ukraine, said the Russian authorities.

A hack that comes as bombings multiply in the Belgorod region

This "speech" claiming that "the Ukrainian forces armed to the teeth (...) and supported by Washington have invaded the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions," was broadcast Monday on several radio stations in these territories bordering Ukraine, according to local authorities. The voice and tone sounded very much like those of the Russian president.

The same message, attributed to Vladimir Putin and repeated on some social networks, announced the implementation of martial law in these regions, the upcoming signing of a presidential decree on general mobilization in Russia and called on local residents to evacuate.

This hacking came as incursions and bombings have multiplied for two weeks in the Belgorod region where pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters attack Russian forces. "It was indeed a hack. We are aware," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies, assuring that control of frequencies had been restored by the radio stations concerned.

Spreading panic among peaceful residents

"The information about the invasion of Ukrainian forces in the Belgorod region, the establishment of martial law, general mobilization and evacuation (...) are a fake," said the authorities of the Belgorod region. "The objective of this message is to sow panic among peaceful residents," the crisis unit set up by the authorities said on Telegram, calling for "keeping calm" and trusting only "reliable" sources of information.

In the Voronezh region, which also borders Ukraine and where some radios have also been hacked, authorities assured residents that there was "no reason to worry". "The situation in the region is under the control of the authorities and law enforcement," they said on Telegram.

According to one of the affected radio stations, MIR, it lost control of its frequencies for about 40 minutes in the afternoon, calling anything that was broadcast during that period a "total fake and provocation".