Ukraine hacks Crimea proxy head, uncovers child abduction files, intelligence source says
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) has hacked the servers of Russian proxy authorities in occupied Crimea, obtaining more than 100 terabytes of classified data, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent on Sept. 24.
The breach allegedly exposed official correspondence of the head of Russian occupation authorities in Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, as well as internal documents and communications between occupation ministries and services.
Among the most significant findings were records detailing the illegal abductions of Ukrainian children from occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
The data includes lists of minors taken to Russia and occupied Crimea, containing personal details, information about their guardians, and their places of residence or study.
"This information has been forwarded to law enforcement agencies for investigation of war crimes related to the abduction of Ukrainian children," the source said.
According to Ukraine's official Children of War database, 19,546 Ukrainian children have been confirmed to be deported or forcibly displaced to Russia, Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, or Belarus since February 2022. Only 1,605 have been brought back home.
The hack also allegedly revealed lists of Russian military personnel, including personal data and information about relatives, as well as records of prisoners, casualties, and compensation documents such as "funeral allowances" and land plot requests in Crimea.
Official correspondence files confirmed a shortage of fuel and lubricants following Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, the source said.
Ukraine has recently stepped up its campaign against Russia's energy infrastructure, a key source of revenue financing Moscow's war, hitting at least 16 of Russia's 38 oil refineries.
This is the second successful breach of the occupying authorities' servers in Crimea in recent months.
Following an earlier hack in July, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) investigated Aksyonov's administration for a potential "mole" but found none, the source added.
