Putin’s 72nd birthday, Ukrainian hackers paralyzed state media -Congratulations–
On October 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked his 72nd birthday amidst a chaotic online backdrop. While this significant milestone should have been a day of celebration, state media faced a massive cyberattack that left numerous websites inoperative. Alexander Dugin, a prominent figure in Russian nationalist circles, publicly extended his birthday wishes, stating, “God bless the Tsar.” However, the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), which runs the primary state TV channels, found itself grappling with severe cyber disruptions.
A Ukrainian government source attributed the attack to hackers from Kyiv, significantly impacting the accessibility of sites, including the Russia-24 news channel. When Reuters attempted to access the service, they encountered a message stating, “503 Service Unavailable. No server available to handle this request.”
The Kremlin acknowledged the cyber assault, claiming that VGTRK’s sites had suffered an “unprecedented hacker attack.” This network plays a crucial role in broadcasting updates regarding the war in Ukraine and includes major channels like Russia-1, Russia-24, and over 80 regional TV and radio stations.
A Ukrainian official revealed that the hackers deliberately targeted VGTRK as a form of “congratulations” to Putin on his special day, shedding light on the motivations behind this bold action. The state-run media outlet “Rossiya Segodnya” noted that both online and internal services were completely disabled, labeling the attack as “unprecedented” and stating that repairs would be time-consuming.
While a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry did not name the attackers, they hinted that Russian media has long been a target of “collective Western” interests, framing the incident within a larger narrative of “hybrid warfare.”
Independent Russian journalist Alexander Plyushchev reported that the outages began as early as 5 a.m., commenting, “The entire news complex of Russia-1 has gone down. Central control and all servers are unresponsive.”
In a show of solidarity, Dugin, a proponent of military action in Ukraine, was among the first to send birthday greetings to Putin, proclaiming, “God bless the Tsar.” At 62, Dugin has consistently advocated for the unification of Russian-speaking regions and has envisioned a new Russian Empire that encompasses territories currently involved in conflict, such as Ukraine.
The ongoing conflict has also led to the assassination of several prominent pro-war Russian figures, including Dugin’s daughter, Darya, who tragically lost her life in a car bombing in 2022.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov took to Telegram to commemorate the occasion, declaring, “Today is the birthday of our national leader, a day of great significance for the entire homeland.” Kadyrov has previously referred to himself as Putin’s “infantry.”
