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Ukraine's POW Coordination Headquarters restores services after cyberattack

• 2 min read
Ukraine's POW Coordination Headquarters restores services after cyberattack
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War's logo. (Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War/Telegram)

Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Jan. 29 that it had restored all services following yesterday's DDoS attack.

The attack came amid an escalating cyberwar between Russia and Ukraine, with numerous large-scale cyberattacks reported by both sides.

"After a proper check by IT specialists, all services of the Coordination Headquarters, which were subjected to a DDoS attack yesterday, are working normally and are available online," the headquarters said on its Telegram channel.

The department responsible for monitoring the treatment of prisoners of war (POW) was hacked mere days after the crash of the Russian Il-76 plane in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24, which Moscow claims resulted in the death of 65 Ukrainian POWs.

Russia also alleges that Ukrainian forces shot down the plane.

Ukraine has not confirmed these claims and called for an international investigation, which Russia refuses. Ukrainian officials pointed out the lack of concrete evidence confirming the presence of a large number of Ukrainian POWs at the crash site.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed that Moscow was meant to return 65 POWs during a planned exchange on Jan. 24.

The headquarters also said it remains unclear whether the POWs in question were actually present at the crash site and warned against possible information operations by Russia.

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Martin Fornusek

Assistant Editor

Martin Fornusek is an assistant editor at the Kyiv Independent. Until recently, Martin held the role of foreign affairs reporter specializing in international and regional politics, history, and disinformation. Based in Lviv, Martin often reports on international politics, focusing on developments related to Ukraine and Russia. His career in journalism began in 2021 after graduating from Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, earning a Master's degree in Conflict and Democracy Studies. Martin has been invited to speak on Times Radio, France 24, Czech Television, and Radio Free Europe. He speaks English, Czech, and Ukrainian.

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