Some Russian cyberattacks on Ukrainian infrastructure can be qualified as war crimes.
This was stated in an interview with POLITICO by Viktor Zhora, Deputy Head of the State Special Service for Digital Development.
According to him, Russia coordinates cyber attacks with military actions.
“When we observe the situation in cyberspace, we notice a certain coordination between kinetic strikes and cyber attacks, and since most kinetic attacks are organized against civilians — as a direct act of war crime, then auxiliary actions in cyberspace can be considered as war crimes,” he explained.
Zhora added that Ukrainian officials are collecting evidence of cyberattacks related to Russian military strikes and are sharing information with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
As an example of such a coordinated attack, he mentioned the cyber attack on DTEK in July 2022.
“Their CHP was fired at, and their corporate network was attacked at the same time. This is a directed and planned activity of the Russians, which they conducted both in the ordinary sphere and in cyberspace,” Zhora said. According to him, the Russians acted in the same way in Odesa, Lviv, and Mykolaiv.
Also, Russia is actively spreading propaganda and disinformation online and trying to identify people who can hinder its military offensive, said the deputy head of the State Intelligence Service.
In his opinion, the international community should discuss the impact of these attacks and determine how to respond to them.
- In November, the head of the Cyber Security Department of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ilya Vityuk, reported that Russia carries out 10 cyber attacks on strategic objects of Ukraine every day.