The European Union is about to activate its Cyber Attack Rapid Response Team to help Ukraine deal with Russian attacks, the unit's leader Lithuania said on Tuesday.
This Baltic state and other countries "are
activating the rapid response team to cyberattacks to help Ukrainian institutions deal with growing cyber
threats", tweeted Margiris Abukevicius, Lithuania's Deputy Defense Minister.
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The move comes after Moscow's recognition of two separatist regions in Ukraine, which sparked strong criticism from Westerners and fueled fears of a possible Russian invasion of the country.
On Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia was using hybrid tactics to “
escalate the situation.
“
We see disinformation campaigns, we see cyberattacks.
We see obvious fake news being spread about Ukraine and we see increased military activity
,” he told reporters in Brussels.
A cybersecurity team created in 2019
Ukrainian cybersecurity agencies warned of the impending attacks earlier this week, in light of a few large ones against government websites recently observed.
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Dmytro Kuleba called on the EU to take decisions that "
would send clear messages to Russia that its escalation will not be tolerated and that Ukraine will not be left on its own
".
"
This includes not only political messages, political signals, but also some very specific actions like supporting the development of our defense sector, supporting Ukraine's cybersecurity, adopting some of the sanctions
," he added.
The EU Cybersecurity Team, created in 2019, brings together Croatian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Polish and Romanian experts.