False anti-aircraft alerts broadcast on Russian radio and TV channels have become the targets of cyberattacks

Authorities in Moscow said on Tuesday that several false air defense warnings were broadcast on Russian radio and TV channels that had come under computer attack.

“Information about the anti-aircraft alert was transmitted to some regions of the country after the invasion of the servers of radio and TV channels,” the Russian Emergencies Ministry said, adding that “this information is unreliable, does not correspond to reality.” .

According to Russian media, these false alerts were broadcast mainly in the Belgorod and Voronezh regions, on the border with Ukraine, as well as in Moscow and St. Petersburg and on the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.

A similar cyberattack, which triggered several false anti-aircraft warnings broadcast by Russian media, already took place last week, the ministry said.

According to Russian news agencies, only private radio and television channels were hit during each attack, with transmitters briefly dominated by a stronger signal.

These incidents took place just after the first anniversary of the start of the Russian offensive on February 24, 2022 in Ukraine.

Objects and infrastructure in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been repeatedly attacked, in particular, by “drones” that Moscow attributes to the Ukrainian army.

The military offensive launched by Russia on February 24, 2022 in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced people and more than eight million to European countries – according to the latest UN figures. which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).

At the moment, at least 18 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.

The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community as a whole, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.

The UN has presented as confirmed 8,101 civilian deaths and 13,479 wounded since the beginning of the war, emphasizing that these figures are much lower than the real ones.