After Russia declared it was pulling back some troops after conducting drills along the border, Ukraine reported its banks and defence ministry site were hit by a cyberattack.
“It is not ruled out that the aggressor used tactics of dirty little tricks because its aggressive plans are not working out on a large scale,” Ukraine’s cyber watchdog said pointing towards alleged role of Russia.
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Ukraine’s Privatbank users said they were encountering problems in payments even as another bank Oshadbank reported that its system had slowed down.
“If Russia attacks the United States or our allies through asymmetric means like disruptive cyberattacks against our companies or critical infrastructure, we’re prepared to respond,” Biden said in a televised address.
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The bank sites resumed operation however reports said the military site was inaccessible for hours with an error message displaying “undergoing technical maintenance”.
Ukraine was hit by a cyberattack a month ago as some government sites were hit even as tensions escalated at the border with Russia.
NATO moved quickly to announce a cyberwarfare agreement as the EU said it will provide all help to Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities hadn’t blamed Russia for the alleged attack at the time.
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The cyberattack on Tuesday came as Russia said it was pulling back some troops from Ukraine’s border even as US President Joe Biden said there was no verifiable evidence of pullback of troops.
The Pentagon had said earlier that Russian troops were boosted along the border last weekend as US authorities said an attack was imminent. President Biden on Tuesday added that “analysts indicate that they remain very much in a threatening position, while adding,”the United States is prepared no matter what happens.”
“We are ready with diplomacy,” Biden said, asserting, “we are ready to respond decisively to a Russian attack on Ukraine, which is still very much a possibility.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
