According to Ukrainian officials, a cyberattack targeted the websites of Ukrainian government institutions and major banks on Tuesday.

The strike, the latest in a series of cyber-attacks against Ukraine, came amid weeks of mounting fears that Russia will invade its neighbour. 

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Russia gave out hints on Tuesday that it may be backing away from an invasion, but Western nations requested confirmation.

DDOS attacks brought down at least ten Ukrainian websites, including those of the Defense Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Culture Ministry, and Ukraine’s two largest state banks.

Customers at Privatbank, Ukraine’s largest state-owned bank, and Sberbank, Ukraine’s largest state-owned bank, have complained about problems with online payments and the banks’ apps.

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“There is no threat to depositors’ funds,” the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security of the Ukrainian Information Ministry said in a statement. Victor Zhora, the deputy minister, confirmed the incident.

Without going into detail, the ministry speculated that Russia was to blame for the incident on Tuesday. “It is possible that the aggressor resorted to tactics of petty mischief, because his aggressive plans aren’t working overall,” the statement said.

Ukraine accused Russia of being behind a cyberattack that took down roughly 70 Ukrainian government websites at the same time in mid-January. During the attack last month, a statement stated that Ukrainians should “be afraid and expect the worst.”

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With the NotPetya virus, Russia unleashed one of the most devastating cyberattacks ever on Ukraine in 2017, causing over $10 billion in damage worldwide. The malware, which was also known as ransomware, was a “wiper” that wiped out entire networks.

The US has officially accused Russia of planning an invasion of Ukraine and emphasised that cybersecurity is still a major worry.

Russia began mobilising troops and military equipment near the Ukrainian border in October 2021, reigniting fears of an invasion. With no official explanation, commercial satellite photos and social media reports from November and December 2021 revealed armour, rockets, and other heavy weaponry moving toward Ukraine.