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Hacker attack: West prepared for escalation in Ukraine conflict

During consultations with his EU colleagues in Brest, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke of a “collective determination to act” should a Russian attack on Ukraine occur. Amid international efforts, there was a large-scale hacking attack on the Ukrainian government.

Russia is said to be behind the hack

Several websites were affected on Friday – for example from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also from the Ministry of Energy and civil protection. According to initial data, Kiev blamed Russia. There was initially no reaction from Moscow – but further complaints about a lack of accommodation on the part of the West in the various talks this week in Geneva, Brussels and Vienna.

EU: Mixture of deterrence and dialogue

At their meeting, the EU foreign ministers agreed on a ten-point plan for dealing with Russia. The concept envisages relying on a mixture of deterrence and dialogue in view of the troop deployment. Preparations for new sanctions with partners such as the USA are to be continued. At the same time, the willingness to take confidence-building measures and support for possible new agreements on disarmament and arms control is emphasized.

“The risk of Russian intervention in Ukraine is real and we have to be ready to react,” said a participant at the EU talks in Brest on Friday, who asked not to be named. Sanctions are on the table for this. The West cannot afford to hesitate again for weeks like it did after the Russian annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said the United States wanted to be “robust in its response to any aggression,” but acknowledged that Russia’s exact course of action remains uncertain: “Intelligence services have made no assessment that the Russians have finally decided have to take military action in Ukraine.” Russia still has the opportunity for further talks.

Baerbock on Tuesday in Moscow

Berlin, among others, is building on this: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized in Brest on Friday that she did not want to let the thread of talks with Moscow break. During her first visit to Moscow on Tuesday, she is counting on “using communication channels at all different levels”. This requires a lot of perseverance, a lot of patience and “strong nerves”. Baerbock will be in Kiev earlier on Monday. Baerbock then wants to travel to the conflict area in eastern Ukraine together with her French colleague Jean Yves Le Drian, as Le Drian announced. According to Le Drian’s environment, this trip should take place in early February at the latest.

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) reiterated on Friday with a view to the Ukraine crisis that “as long as we talk to each other, all hope is not lost”. But the situation is “more serious than we have seen in recent years,” said the Foreign Minister.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the West has promised written answers to Moscow’s demand for security guarantees next week. Russia had also dampened expectations of a continued dialogue: he sees no need for this for the time being, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Lavrov accused NATO of continuing on a confrontational course – especially in view of recent statements about the possible inclusion of Scandinavian countries in the alliance. This is an “artificial extension” of a NATO that basically lost its purpose with the end of the Cold War more than 30 years ago. From Lavrov’s point of view, the West disregards international law and aims to build a new world order. “By the way, both Sweden and Finland, as well as Austria, from time to time and even regularly take part in NATO exercises, the scenarios of which are anything but harmless,” Lavrov emphasized.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reported a “worldwide attack” on its government’s website on Friday night. According to the Ministry of Education in Kiev, the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Energy, the government and the emergency services were not accessible. The Ukrainian government blamed Russia for the hacking attack. According to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the attacks came from Russia “according to initial data”. In the Russian media there were already first indications of the attacks even before they were picked up in Ukraine.

NATO: Continued support to Ukraine

NATO condemned the attack and announced further support for Ukraine. According to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, an agreement on increased cooperation on cyber issues is to be signed. It is also said to give Ukraine access to a NATO platform on malware.

Schallenberg described the massive hacker attack as “incredibly worrying”. Cyber ​​attacks are now “part of diplomatic reality,” said Schallenberg at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brest, referring to a hacker attack on the Foreign Ministry in Vienna. It would have to be observed “very closely”, “where does that come from and what is the exact aim of the attack?” Germany offered to help Ukraine.

Source: Nachrichten

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