Numerous Ukrainian institutions suffer a massive cyberattack and the Kiev government blames Moscow for it
After the fiasco of the talks between Russia, the United States and NATO on Monday and Wednesday, the threats to deploy military infrastructure in Cuba and Venezuela and the cyberattack suffered at dawn on Friday by the websites of the Ukrainian government, which in Kiev attributed to Russian military ‘hackers’, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took advantage of his annual press conference this Friday to add fuel to the fire and reiterate the demand that his country receive “security guarantees as the only solution to put an end to current tensions. “We are very patient, but our patience has come to an end (.) now we are waiting for answers from our colleagues, written answers, put on paper, as we did when we presented our proposals” on “security guarantees”, last 17 December, said Lavrov when answering the question why precisely now, and not before, they insist so much on this aspect.
In his opinion, in the West “they realized that Russia will not wait forever for an answer” to their demands. In his appearance before the press, the head of Russian diplomacy assured that “in general, we are convinced that, if there is good will, if there is a willingness to compromise, a mutually acceptable solution can always be found.”
But, he added, “if our proposals are rejected, when this happens (.) of course, we will assess the situation and inform the president” Vladimir Putin, who, Lavrov recalled, has already said that “he will make a decision taking into account all the factors in for the sake of reliable security. The Russian minister lamented the fact that there is a risk that the “process will take forever by citing the need for the United States to consult with its allies and to involve OSCE members. But they would be excuses and attempts to drag out the process.
“We want to see where you stand on paper, article by article for each of our points in both documents. We want to get a detailed answer: is this appropriate, is this not appropriate, if not appropriate, why? If anything needs to be added, let amendments or corrections be made on paper,” Lavrov explained. He commented that “now in the mouth of all the media it is that the western reaction is concentrated mainly on the categorical declaration of the impossibility of abandoning the principle of open doors of NATO”, according to which any country can apply for membership. Hence, the Alliance considers “unacceptable” the Russian demand that Ukraine not be able to join it.
security guarantees
The Russian Foreign Minister recalled how his country and the US managed in January last year to extend the New START Nuclear Arms Reduction and Limitation Treaty for five years “without preconditions and without adding appendices or additional clauses, as proposed by Russia” . In his words, Putin and his American counterpart, Joe Biden, last June in Geneva, “agreed on the need for a dialogue on all other issues of strategic stability and the weapons involved.”
Last month, Russia presented in two separate documents the draft of the so-called “security guarantees” that it considers unavoidable to avert the danger of war and calm tensions with Ukraine. They must be negotiated with Washington and NATO. Moscow, in particular, demands legal guarantees that a further expansion of the Alliance to the east will be rejected, it will renounce integrating Ukraine and it will avoid deploying military bases in former Soviet republics.
Lavrov also believes that the West “has gone too far” by asking Russia to return troops stationed near the Ukrainian border to their barracks “after failing to fulfill all their obligations, lacking common sense and aggravating relations with Russia.” Likewise, the minister stated that “Western countries contribute to the negative development of events in the world, the potential for conflict is accumulating.”
On Thursday, in an interview with the RTVI television channel, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Riabkov did not rule out that his country could deploy troops and military infrastructure in Cuba and Venezuela if the Kremlin does not receive a response to its demands. Ryabkov said that Putin has previously referred to the possibility of using his Navy to be based in Cuba. Last month, Riabkov himself compared the current Ukraine crisis to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.
In this tense context, a massive cyberattack against Ukraine collapsed the websites of the Foreign Ministry, the government apparatus, the Security and Defense Council and other government portals at dawn on Friday with messages such as “be afraid and expect the worst.” in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. Ukrainian authorities suspect that the hackers may belong to a group created by the Russian Defense Ministry that seeks to “provoke chaos and destabilize the internal situation” in Ukraine.
“We are mobilizing all resources to help Ukraine deal with this type of cyberattack,” the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said on Friday. In this regard, the EU Rapid Response Cyber Unit was activated in aid of Ukraine.
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