‘Nothing secret left': Ukraine hacks its way to crucial Russian military information in huge blow to Vladimir Putin
Ukraine has struck another major blow to Russia's internal operations, days after pulling off one of the most devastating covert attacks deep inside Vladimir Putin's territory.
Ukraine military intelligence agency (HUR) has gained access to sensitive data of Russia's strategic aircraft manufacturer Tupolev, a source in HUR told The Kyiv Independent.
Tupolev is a Soviet-era aerospace firm that has been fully integrated into Russia's gargantuan defence-industrial complex. The firm has been under international sanctions since 2022 for its role in Russia's war against Ukraine.
Its bombers have been widely used to launch long-range cruise missiles against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure with untold amounts of death and damage.
According to the source, HUR's cyber corps accessed over 4.4 gigabytes (GB) of internal data, including official correspondence, personnel files, home addresses, resumes, purchase records, and closed meeting minutes.
'The significance of the data obtained cannot be over-estimated,' the source said.
'Now, in fact, there is nothing secret left in Tupolev's activities for Ukrainian intelligence.'
The intelligence includes detailed information about engineers and staff responsible for maintaining Russia's strategic bombers, such as the Tu-95 and Tu-160, which form a key part of Russia's fearsome nuclear arsenal.
'In particular, we have obtained comprehensive information about individuals directly involved in servicing Russian strategic aviation,' the source added.
'The result will obviously be noticeable both on the ground and in the sky.'
Ukrainian cyber operatives also replaced the Tupolev website's homepage with an image of an owl clutching a Russian aircraft, likely referencing HUR's insignia and cyber warfare skills.
The breach comes days after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) crippled over a third of Russia's strategic bomber fleet in a major drone operation codenamed Spiderweb, which targeted four Russian air bases.
That attack reportedly damaged 41 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 bombers, using drones launched from trucks hidden deep inside Russian territory.
Putin has now launched its retaliation, killing six people including a baby and injuring dozens more in the eastern city of Pryluky.
The strikes came just hours after Putin reportedly told former US President Donald Trump that Russia would 'have to respond' to Ukraine's weekend drone raids.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin was acting with 'impunity' and accused the Kremlin of showing 'the middle finger to the entire world.'
In Chernihiv region, six people were killed after a barrage of Shahed-type drones struck the city of Pryluky overnight. Regional governor Viacheslav Chaus confirmed that among the victims were three generations of a single family: a 46-year-old woman, her 26-year-old daughter, and her 16-month-old grandson. Police said their bodies were recovered from the rubble of a destroyed home.
Elsewhere, in Kharkiv, 17 people were wounded in a separate drone assault that hit two apartment buildings in the Slobidskyi district around 1:05am. Victims included three children aged 13, nine, and seven, a pregnant woman, and a 93-year-old woman.
'One drone hit the 16th floor of a residential building, another struck the wall of a five-story building,' regional head Oleh Syniehubov said. He described the attack as 'insidious terror.'
Mayor Ihor Terekhov called the incident 'targeted terror' against civilians.
A Kharkiv resident, speaking during the attack, said: 'I am recording this at 2am, I can't sleep... I am saying this on the way to the basement. Praying to God I'll be out alive in the morning.'
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