Kyiv Independent hit by suspected Russian cyberattack

The Kyiv Independent came under a cyberattack on Nov. 4, resulting in website disruption and some readers receiving emails containing fake claims in Russian and English.

The content of the fake claims points to a Russian operation. Hackers gained access to the website’s content management system and to one of the services the Kyiv Independent uses to send newsletters.

“This is the first time an attack like this has happened to us, and we are treating it very seriously,” said Olga Rudenko, the Kyiv Independent’s editor-in-chief.

The attack has similarities with the hack of the government app that Ukrainians rely on for air raid alerts three days earlier.

The hackers sent four emails and posted similar messages on the website, which the Kyiv Independent staff deleted immediately.

The bank details of the Kyiv Independent’s members and donors are not at risk, as all payment and banking information is handled by secure third-party payment systems.

“Our team has been working on stopping this ugly attack since the night together with cybersecurity specialists. We are doing our best to identify all vulnerabilities and protect our platforms from possible future attacks,” says Zakhar Protsiuk, the Kyiv Independent’s chief operating officer.

“We are grateful for all the support and messages offering help that we received from our readers, members, and partners from different countries. This attack won’t stop us from doing our work.”

Emails that hackers sent contained fake claims about President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The first email, sent at 1 a.m. Kyiv time on Nov. 4, claimed that “Zelensky launched a nuclear warhead at Kyiv” as “proof of friendship” after meeting with Putin, and contained a username of an anonymous Telegram channel. Telegram is a Russian messaging and social media app that is widely used in Ukraine. The channel had mocking messages and threats in Russian about attacking Ukrainians.

The email warned recipients in Russian to take shelter. Only a small minority of the Kyiv Independent’s audience live in Ukraine, with most readers based in English-speaking countries such as the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia, as well as European countries.

A second Russian-language email was sent at 2:30 p.m. local time on Nov. 4. A similar email in English was sent at 3:05 p.m, followed by another email in Russian. The website simultaneously came under attack. These messages contained fake claims about a physical attack on Zelensky.

“Attacks like these are part of the war we cover every day — an attempt to sow confusion and erode trust,” Rudenko said.

The attack against the Kyiv Independent comes days after Ukraine's air raid alert app was hacked. Several fake alerts were sent to users’ phones, warning of nuclear, chemical, and street fighting threats, as well as a fake message in Russian.

"Hi! A nuclear alert is about to go off all across Ukraine! Don't worry, the Oreshnik (missile) is on its way," one of the false warnings read in Russian on the air alert app, which was developed in collaboration between the Digital Transformation Ministry and security technology company Ajax Systems.

The false alerts were then cleared about an hour later. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the hack was a Russian attack in an interview with PBS News on Nov. 2.

“It was a cyberattack, one of the hundreds and thousands of those made by Russians before on banking systems, on pensions, social support, a lot of different support for civilians.”

“Of course, they want each day to make chaos in Ukraine, in all our cities. It's one of such steps by Russia,” he said.

For media inquiries: press@kyivindependent.com