Russian channels hacked with fake Putin speeches amid reports of Ukrainian counteroffensive
It comes as Ukraine's Defence Minister posted a cryptic tweet on Sunday quoting English electronic band Depeche Mode, as John Ray reports
Russian broadcast channels have been hacked to feature speeches from a fake Vladimir Putin and a Ukrainian propaganda clip, according to reports.
The series of hacks, which have taken place over the last few days, coincide with speculation that Ukraine has begun a widely anticipated counteroffensive.
On Sunday, a "deep fake" of President Putin, produced by artificial intelligence, appeared on Russian TV, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The figure reportedly called another round of Russian troops up for active service.
The following day, Russia itself admitted radio stations in Moscow-controlled Crimea had inadvertently played a fabricated Putin address.
In the speech, 'Putin' announced martial law, telling listeners Ukraine had invaded Russia, a local Russian authority told state-run agency RIA Novosti.
"It was indeed a hack. We know about it. Now the broadcasters are being urgently informed by the relevant departments about this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the agency.
And according to Ukrainian officials, hackers interrupted Russian TV with footage from Ukraine's defence ministry.
The video, also published on social media by Ukraine's own defence minister, showed soldiers putting a finger to their lips in a sign to keep quiet. “Plans love silence,” it said on the screen. “There will be no announcement of the start.”
Ukraine has not explicitly claimed responsibility for hacking any Russian stations.
Ukraine often waits until the completion of its military operations to confirm its actions, imposing news blackouts in the interim. However, unconfirmed reports have fueled speculation that a major Ukrainian ground operation could be underway as part of the anticipated counteroffensive.
On Monday, Russia's Defence Ministry claimed Ukraine launched a major offensive overnight to "no success". The Ukrainian military dismissed the allegation, suggesting Russia was executing a misinformation campaign.
Though it is unclear whether the attack was the beginning of Ukraine's highly-anticipated counteroffensive, Russia has claimed its forces had thwarted a large enemy attack in the eastern province of Donetsk, Ukraine.
The Russian ministry, in a rare early morning video on Monday, said its forces pushed back a “large scale” Ukrainian assault on Sunday at five points in southern Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions Russia illegally annexed last fall.
“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defenses in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front,” said the ministry’s spokesman, Igor Konashenkov.
“The enemy did not achieve its tasks. It had no success.”
Mr Konashenkov said 250 Ukrainian personnel were killed, and 16 Ukrainian tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armored combat vehicles were destroyed.
Ukraine did not comment, and often waits until the completion of its military operations to confirm its actions, imposing news blackouts in the interim.
It was unclear why the Russian Defence Ministry waited until Monday morning to announce the attack, which it said started Sunday morning.
For months, Ukrainian officials have spoken of plans to launch a spring counteroffensive to reclaim territory Russia has occupied since invading on February 24, 2022, as well as the Crimean Peninsula it seized in 2014.
But they have given confusing signals about what would constitute a counteroffensive - preliminary, limited attacks to weaken Russian forces and military facilities or a full-fledged simultaneous assault across the entire 1,100-kilometre (684-mile) front line.
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