Hacker attack on Kyivstar, meeting between Zelenskyy and Biden, new aid from US: highlights
One of Ukraine's largest mobile operators, Kyivstar, has suffered a large—scale hacker attack. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with his American counterpart Joe Biden and US senators. The American leader announced new aid worth $200 million. Ukraine's intelligence hacked the Russian tax service. Here are the main news for December 12.
Hacker attack on Kyivstar
On the morning of December 12, the press service of one of Ukraine's largest mobile operators, Kyivstar, reported a technical failure. The company noted that this may result in the unavailability of communication and Internet access services for part of its subscriber base.
Kyivstar subscribers reported that they could not switch to other operators through internal roaming. The Ministry of Digital Transformation explained to hromadske that national roaming does not work because Kyivstar's network cannot transfer information about its subscribers to other operators' networks.
Later, the company claimed that it fell victim to a "powerful hacker attack." According to the company's CEO Oleksandr Komarov, part of the virtual IT infrastructure was destroyed.
The cyberattack affected not only mobile communications, but also the operation of bank ATMs, kiosks and automatic systems in some regions, such as air raid sirens or turning off street lights in the morning.
The Security Service has already opened a criminal investigation into the hacker attack.
As of 8 p.m., the company was able to partially restore fixed-line services. Experts will try to restore other services on December 13.
Zelenskyy's visit to United States
On the second day of his working visit to the United States, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with leaders of both parties in the Senate and senators.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the meeting between the Ukrainian president and lawmakers on Capitol Hill was "very powerful."
According to him, Zelenskyy "outlined in great detail" what Ukraine needs and how the United States can help the country defend itself against Russia. The Ukrainian president said that "help is needed quickly."
Zelenskyy also met for the first time with House Speaker Mike Johnson. He said that the meeting was "good," but added that he remained steadfast in his position that the United States must first resolve the issue of changes at its border before moving forward with a bill on new financial assistance to Ukraine.
Finally, the Ukrainian president met with US President Joe Biden. During the meeting, the American leader announced a new $200 million aid package for Ukraine.
Ukraine's intelligence hacked the Russian tax service
Cyber units of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine have successfully attacked the tax system of the Russian Federation.
During the special operation, military intelligence officers managed to penetrate one of the well-protected key central servers of the main tax system of Russia (the Federal Tax Service), and then to more than 2,300 of its regional servers throughout the country, as well as in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
As a result of the cyberattack, all servers received malware. At the same time, cyber specialists attacked the Russian IT company Office.ed-it.ru, which served the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, in the same way.
The flag of Ukraine on the Horlivka spoil tip
Soldiers of the 24th King Danylo Mechanized Brigade have recaptured one of the spoil heaps in Horlivka. Now the flag of Ukraine is flying there.
The Polish border
The truck used by Polish carriers to block the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint once again is being bypassed at the border, said Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Serhiy Derkach.
According to him, as of the morning of December 12, more than 100 vehicles have already passed through the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint both entering and leaving Ukraine. The government is now working to unblock the remaining three checkpoints.
Other news
- Since the beginning of the all-out war against Ukraine, the Russian army has lost 90% of its personnel, Reuters reports, citing a declassified US intelligence report.
- Poland's newly elected Prime Minister Tusk said he could not listen to politicians who talk about war fatigue.
- Dozens of EU diplomats have come to Zakarpattya Oblast to see for themselves that there is no persecution of minorities.
- The NYT, citing sources, writes that the United States is advising Ukraine to consolidate its positions and simultaneously build up its forces.