Europeans and Americans accused the Russian authorities of launching a major cyber attack on a network of satellites before the start of its war on Ukraine at the end of last February, to prepare the ground, according to the French magazine L'Obs.
"We can attribute this to the Russian government," European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels, adding that this was the first time the European Union had openly accused Russian authorities of being directly responsible for a cyber attack.
"The cyberattack occurred an hour before the brutal and unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, facilitating military aggression," the European Union said in a statement on behalf of the 27 member states.
According to the European Union, the attack caused major communications disruptions that affected public services, businesses and citizen users in Ukraine, as well as many EU member states.
The European Union and its member states, as well as its international partners, strongly condemned Russia's "malicious" cyber activity against Ukraine, targeting the KA-SAT satellite network operated by Viasat.
So far, Lopes said, the European Union has been blaming cyberattacks on parties "from within Russia", but without direct condemnation of the Russian authorities, but this time the United States, in coordination with its European allies, issued its own analysis, blaming the hack. on the Russian authorities.
According to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the attack "disrupted small earth stations in Ukraine and across Europe" especially those that power "wind turbines" and "provide internet for ordinary citizens".
Washington also accuses Internet agents of the Russian army of "deploying many families of malware", particularly those that erase all data from targeted computers, "in the networks of the Ukrainian administration and the private sector".
"These destabilizing cyber operations began last January and continued through the war," the State Department added in a statement.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "This is clear and shocking evidence of a deliberate and malign Russian attack on Ukraine, one that has had dire consequences for ordinary citizens and businesses in Ukraine and throughout Europe."
The European Union said it was considering further measures to prevent, deter, discourage and respond to such malicious behavior in cyberspace, in coordination with its allies, and the Westerners also promised to continue to help Ukraine strengthen its cyber defenses.
The attack on US satellite operator Viasat disrupted the Internet for thousands of users in Germany, France, Hungary, Greece, Italy and Poland. The British Foreign Office said tens of thousands of stations were damaged beyond repair.
With the current situation in the region continuing, Lopes says, observers and experts fear that Russia's war in Ukraine could lead to a wave of devastating cyberattacks that could have a global impact.