Several Ukraine Ministry Websites Struck by Likely Cyberattack

Alberto Nardelli, Vladimir Kuznetsov and Daryna Krasnolutska, Bloomberg News

Computer code displayed on screens arranged in Danbury, U.K., on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. In the spring, hackers managed to insert malicious code into a software product from an IT provider called SolarWinds Corp., whose client list includes 300,000 institutions. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Several Ukraine government websites were down Friday, in what the Foreign Ministry said was a cyberattack.

The websites of Ukraine’s foreign, agriculture and education ministries were among those that were down, some with their content replaced by messages in Russian, Polish and Ukrainian.

“Ukrainians! All your personal data has been uploaded to the public network,” the message said. “All data on your computer is being erased and won’t be recoverable. All information about you has become public, fear and expect the worst.”

A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said on Twitter that the websites were down following a massive hack and that authorities were working to restore services.

The ruble was trading 0.2% stronger against the dollar as of 8:58 a.m. in Moscow. The currency posted its sharpest daily drop since October 2020 on Thursday after a senior Russian diplomat said Moscow’s demands for security guarantees from the U.S. and its allies had hit “a dead end.”

The incident comes after meetings this week between the U.S., its allies and Russia failed to reach a break through with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine. While the Kremlin has denied plans to invade the country, Putin has amassed troops on the border and is demanding security guarantees from the U.S. and its European allies.

The allies have been working to ready a package of sanctions to respond to a potential invasion or further acts of Russian aggression.