Cyber attack on many government websites of Ukraine amid tension with Russia, banking apps also stalled

Ukraine Crisis: Amidst tensions with Russia, two Ukrainian government websites have been cyber attacked. Ukraine has reported that there is a cyber attack on the sites of the country’s defense ministry and armed forces as well as two state banks, which has also affected banking-related operations. Ukraine has raised the possibility that the cyber attackers may be of Russian origin.

The affected websites include Oschadbank State Savings Bank and Privat24, the country’s two largest financial institutions. An error message appeared on the Ministry of Defense website, which said that the site was “undergoing technical maintenance.”

Customers’ money safe – Ukrainian government

Customers of Privat24 and Sberbank have complained that the bank’s apps have stopped working, causing problems in making online payments. Amidst this cyber attack, the Ukrainian government has said that people’s money deposited in banks is safe.

Russia announced the withdrawal of some of its troops

Russia said that some troops taking part in military exercises have started returning to their military base, however, Russia has not given details of the withdrawal. This has raised hopes that Russia may not have plans to attack Ukraine. It is not yet clear from where and how many of the troops that the Russian Defense Ministry has said to return.

The announcement came after the Russian foreign minister’s statement indicated that his country was ready to continue talks on the security issues that led to the Ukraine crisis. This change in Russia’s stance was seen weeks after tensions erupted. However, Western officials still continue to warn that Russia could attack Ukraine at any moment and is moving military equipment to the border. Some are telling the day of possible attack on Wednesday or today.