Ukraine Says Another Sweeping Cyberattack Underway as State Websites and Banks Hit

Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says Another Sweeping Cyberattack Underway as State Websites and Banks Hit

Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)
Residents carry Ukrainian national flag as they gather in the Olympic Stadium to mark the Unity Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 16, 2022. (Reuters)

The websites of Ukraine's government, foreign ministry and state security service were down on Wednesday in what the government said was the start of another massive denial of service (DDoS) attack that began at around 4 p.m. (1400 GMT).

Ukrainian authorities said this week they had seen online warnings that hackers were preparing to launch major attacks on government agencies, banks and the defense sector.

Ukraine has suffered a string of cyberattacks that Kyiv has blamed on Russia. Moscow, which is caught up in a mounting confrontation with the West over Ukraine, has denied any involvement.

"At about 4 pm, another mass DDoS attack on our state began. We have relevant data from a number of banks," said Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation, adding that the parliament website was also hit.

He did not mention which banks were affected and the central bank could not immediately be reached for comment.

The online networks of Ukraine's defense ministry and two banks were overwhelmed last week in a separate cyberattack. The US company Netscout Systems Inc later said the impact had been modest.

Internet blockage observatory NetBlocks posted a tweet on Thursday that showed a drop-off in connections to the Ukrainian government websites.

"We've observed that the current network disruption has partial impact on the network layer to multiple defense and ministerial websites in Ukraine," NetBlocks director Alp Toker told Reuters.

"The spread of outages is similar but distinct from the recent DDOS attack targeting defense and banking platforms, with the latter not impacted in this instance," he added.



Russian Forces Retake Village from Ukraine in Russia's Kursk Region

A Ukrainian law enforcement officer inspects a crater next to a destroyed perfume and cosmetics manufacturing building following a missile attack in Kharkiv on April 18, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP)
A Ukrainian law enforcement officer inspects a crater next to a destroyed perfume and cosmetics manufacturing building following a missile attack in Kharkiv on April 18, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP)
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Russian Forces Retake Village from Ukraine in Russia's Kursk Region

A Ukrainian law enforcement officer inspects a crater next to a destroyed perfume and cosmetics manufacturing building following a missile attack in Kharkiv on April 18, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP)
A Ukrainian law enforcement officer inspects a crater next to a destroyed perfume and cosmetics manufacturing building following a missile attack in Kharkiv on April 18, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by SERGEY BOBOK / AFP)

Russian troops recaptured the village of Oleshnya in Russia's western Kursk region from Ukrainian forces, the RIA state news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying on Saturday.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield report.
Russia has been fighting to eject Ukrainian troops from Kursk since Kyiv sent its forces across the border in a lightning incursion in August 2024.