On 11 May 2023, Channel 24, a national Ukrainian TV channel, said its website had come under a cyber attack from Russian sources. According to the media, false news items were published on its page, containing “threats [directed at] Zelensky and at Ukrainians”. Subscribed readers also received push notifications with such content.
“Today, the enemy launched a vile cyber attack on the website of Channel 24”, said a statement published on the media’s page. “We repelled the attack and promptly identified the ‘hole’ through which the invaders had entered. The attack came just before the publication of our major investigation into a high-ranking Russian GRU [Russian military intelligence] officer.”
Channel 24 had been previously targeted in a DDoS attack in February, on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. As noted by IMI, a Kyiv-based press freedom group, at the time the channel had been attacked almost at the same time as several Ukrainian government websites.