US confirms it conducted cyber operations to support Ukraine in war against Russia

The US military conducted "offensive cyber operations" to support Ukraine in its response to Russia’s military offensive, the country’s Cyber Command Chief General Paul Nakasone said. As the battle for Kyiv’s sovereignty entered day 100, Nakasone while speaking to Sky News admitted that American officials “conducted a series of operations across the full spectrum: Offensive, defensive, and information operations.”  While he stopped short of revealing details of the operation, the American official said that all the operations complied with the country’s laws and policies. 

His remarks were later reiterated by White House press spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre. "We don't negotiate our security assistance packages to Ukraine. We are doing exactly what the President said he would do...to provide security assistance that is above and beyond," she said. In addendum, Tom Kellermann, head of the cybersecurity strategy at VMware, called the move "historic."

The US has long accused the Russian Federation of conducting malicious cyber attacks. In a statement, released last month, the Biden administration noted, "In the months leading up to and after Russia’s illegal invasion began, Ukraine experienced a series of disruptive cyber operations, including website defacements, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and cyber attacks to delete data from computers belonging to the government and private entities – all part of the Russian playbook." It added that Putin's forces began the cyber warfare in January 2022, much before launching an on-ground combat operation. 

Russia-Ukraine war completes 100 days

In the past 100 days, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops have managed to occupy one-fifth of Ukraine’s total land area, as revealed by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on Friday. Failing to capture the capital Kyiv in the first phase of Russia's so-called "special military operation", Putin’s army concentrated all their combat on the southern and eastern sides of the country, almost destroying the industrial area of Donbas. 

“As of today, about 20% of our territory is under the control of the occupiers, almost 125 thousand square kilometers. This is much larger than the area of all the Benelux countries combined," Zelenskyy told the Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg via video link.

(Image: Pixabay/AP)