Russia hacked Ukrainian satellite communications, officials believe

Western intelligence agencies have been investigating the incident and while they have not yet made a public accusation, they believe Russia was behind it.

It appears to have been hit by a sophisticated cyber-attack that wiped devices on the day the invasion began.

In recent days, US cyber-authorities have warned that they are “aware of possible threats to US and international satellite communication networks”, and America’s FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) have urged providers to improve their security because of the continuing potential risks.

Destructive cyber-attacks take time to prepare and Moscow’s state hackers may also not have had sufficient notice since, like much of the military, they may not have known an invasion was being planned until the last minute.

But Western officials caution against the idea that there have not been cyber-attacks

They say that the Ukrainians may simply have been resilient to the attacks that did come their way.

So far, there have also not been major cyber-attacks against the West from Moscow.