Latest news with #pro-Ukraine
The Sun
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Putin signs law fining searches for extremist content in Russia
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law imposing fines on internet users who search for content labelled as 'extremist' by authorities. The legislation, criticised as a crackdown on free expression, penalises individuals up to 5,000 rubles ($64) for accessing banned materials. The law targets searches for web pages, books, music, or artwork deemed extremist. Over 5,000 entries are on the official blacklist, including pro-Ukraine songs, Pussy Riot's blog posts, and anti-Putin websites. The State Duma passed the bill earlier this month despite opposition from some parliamentary groups. Russian opposition figure Boris Nadezhdin compared the law to George Orwell's dystopian novel *1984*, calling it a punishment for 'thought crimes.' The legislation also bans VPN advertisements and fines SIM card transfers, methods Russians use to bypass state censorship. Since its 2022 Ukraine offensive, Russia has intensified online restrictions, blocking platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Many citizens still access banned sites via VPNs, defying government controls. – AFP
Russia Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Kiev's backers ‘tired' of peace – EU country's PM
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused other EU leaders of being apparently 'tired and bored of 80 years of peace', and accused them of apparently attempting to trigger a direct NATO-Russia clash. Fico, who survived an assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine activist who disagreed with the PM's opposition to arming Kiev, blasted the West's approach to the conflict, during an interview published by his Smer party on Sunday, claiming it poses a danger to world peace. Whereas dozens of countries backed a call for ceasefire in Gaza, 'no joint call … for an immediate end to the war and for peace' was organized concerning Ukraine, he lamented. According to Fico, his attempt to initiate a comparable declaration at the European Council has failed. 'It seems that the leaders of some countries in Europe are already tired and bored of 80 years of peace.' 'Artificially provoking a conflict between one of the NATO member states and Russia is easy. History gives us thousands of examples of how to do it. And what happens then?' he questioned, warning that those thinking they could control such a clash are gravely mistaken. A long-time critic of Western military aid to Ukraine, Fico halted Slovakia's military assistance to the country upon returning to office in October 2023. 'I will not send one bullet,' he proclaimed, while criticizing EU sanctions on Russia. Prior to a key NATO summit in June he suggested that Slovakia would be better off as a neutral country. He has previously vowed that Ukraine will never join NATO 'on my watch,' explaining that Kiev's membership in the US-led military bloc 'would be a good basis for a World War III.' Fico has also been critical of the EU's and NATO's push to ramp up military spending, calling new proposed targets for his country – which would amount to almost a fifth of its budget – 'absolutely absurd.' Moscow has consistently condemned Western support for Ukraine as prolonging the conflict and making NATO a direct participant in the fighting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also described NATO as a 'hostile' bloc pursuing rampant militarization in Europe.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Russia says Aeroflot has recovered from cyberattack, but dozens more flights cancelled
July 29 (Reuters) - Russian airline Aeroflot ( opens new tab cancelled dozens more flights on Tuesday but said it had now stabilised its schedule after a major cyberattack a day earlier, and the transport ministry said the issue had been resolved. Two pro-Ukraine hacking groups claimed on Monday to have carried out a year-long operation to penetrate Aeroflot's network. They said they had crippled 7,000 servers, extracted data on passengers and employees and gained control over the personal computers of staff, including senior managers. Aeroflot's online timetable showed about 25 flights out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport had been cancelled on Tuesday, mostly overnight and through the morning. Nearly all afternoon and evening flights were due to take off, though dozens were delayed. Interfax news agency said 31 inbound flights to the capital had been cancelled. Aeroflot said it had "stabilised" its flight programme. The transport ministry said in a statement: "Thanks to the efforts of Aeroflot employees, with the active support of Sheremetyevo services, the problem that arose was resolved in the shortest possible time." The ministry described the issue as "a failure in the IT infrastructure". It did not refer to it as a cyberattack, although prosecutors have said they are investigating it as such. Responsibility was claimed by the Belarusian Cyber Partisans, a long-established group that opposes President Alexander Lukashenko, and by a more shadowy and recent hacking outfit that calls itself Silent Crow. Yuliana Shemetovets, a spokesperson for the Cyber Partisans, said Aeroflot was likely working with costly manual systems in order to maintain the appearance of business as usual. The ministry statement said there had been a "transition to domestic systems". "Without IT systems the company can work manually like in the old days when flight tickets cost more than $1K," Shemetovets told Reuters. "It would just be unprofitable, meaning the company would keep sustaining losses just to save face." She said that Aeroflot's CEO had not changed his password since 2022 and that the company was using an outdated version of Windows software. Some workers had passwords saved in a Word document on their computers, she added. Reuters could not independently confirm those details and has approached Aeroflot for comment. Aeroflot's shares were up 1.36% on Tuesday, recovering some ground after slumping to their lowest mark since late 2024 on Monday. Russian lawmakers said the cyberattack was a wake-up call and that investigators should focus not only on the perpetrators but on those who had allowed it to happen. Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Protection Society, a Russian digital rights group, said it was a serious episode that showed cybercriminals were learning "best practice" from around the world while Russian companies were hampered in their response because of sanctions. "It's like with viruses: If you don't communicate with people who have the flu, you have no immunity," he told Reuters. Klimarev said Russian security services had dropped the ball, and the incident highlighted a failure of the technical systems that are meant to allow them to counter such threats. He said there was a grave safety risk as the hackers could hypothetically have exploited their access to Aeroflot systems in order to change data and cause planes to crash.
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First Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
Cancelled flights, blackouts, internet shutdown: The daily problems of being in a state of war
Russian airline Aeroflot cancelled dozens of flights on Tuesday after suffering a major cyberattack a day earlier. Two pro-Ukraine hacker groups claimed responsibility, saying they crippled 7,000 servers and accessed sensitive passenger and employee data. read more Russian airline Aeroflot cancelled dozens more flights on Tuesday but said it had now stabilised its schedule after a major cyberattack a day earlier. Two pro-Ukraine hacking groups claimed on Monday to have carried out a year-long operation to penetrate Aeroflot's network. They said they had crippled 7,000 servers, extracted data on passengers and employees and gained control over the personal computers of staff, including senior managers. The Interfax news agency said Aeroflot had cancelled 59 round-trip flights from Moscow on Monday out of a planned 260. It said that a further 22 flights out of Moscow and 31 into the capital were cancelled on Tuesday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Aeroflot's online timetable showed that all but one of the 22 cancelled flights out of Moscow on Tuesday had been due to leave before 10 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT), but the schedule for the rest of the day appeared largely unaffected. 'As of today, 93% of flights from Moscow and back are planned to be operated according to the original schedule (216 return flights out of 233),' the company said. 'Until 10:00, the company carried out selective flight cancellations, after which Aeroflot's own flight program stabilised.' Apart from the many cancellations, Monday's attack caused heavy delays to air travel across the world's biggest country and drew anger from affected passengers. Responsibility was claimed by the Belarusian Cyber Partisans, a long-established group that opposes President Alexander Lukashenko, and by a more shadowy and recent hacking outfit that calls itself Silent Crow. Russian lawmakers said the cyberattack was a wake-up call and that investigators should focus not only on the perpetrators but on those who had allowed it to happen.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Russia says Aeroflot has recovered from cyberattack, but dozens more flights cancelled
Russian airline Aeroflot cancelled dozens more flights on Tuesday but said it had now stabilised its schedule after a major cyberattack a day earlier, and the transport ministry said the issue had been resolved. Two pro-Ukraine hacking groups claimed on Monday to have carried out a year-long operation to penetrate Aeroflot's network. They said they had crippled 7,000 servers, extracted data on passengers and employees and gained control over the personal computers of staff, including senior managers. Aeroflot's online timetable showed about 25 flights out of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport had been cancelled on Tuesday, mostly overnight and through the morning. Nearly all afternoon and evening flights were due to take off, though dozens were delayed. Interfax news agency said 31 inbound flights to the capital had been cancelled. Aeroflot said it had "stabilised" its flight programme. The transport ministry said in a statement: "Thanks to the efforts of Aeroflot employees, with the active support of Sheremetyevo services, the problem that arose was resolved in the shortest possible time." The ministry described the issue as "a failure in the IT infrastructure". It did not refer to it as a cyberattack, although prosecutors have said they are investigating it as such. Responsibility was claimed by the Belarusian Cyber Partisans, a long-established group that opposes President Alexander Lukashenko, and by a more shadowy and recent hacking outfit that calls itself Silent Crow. 'SAVING FACE' Yuliana Shemetovets, a spokesperson for the Cyber Partisans, said Aeroflot was likely working with costly manual systems in order to maintain the appearance of business as usual. The ministry statement said there had been a "transition to domestic systems". "Without IT systems the company can work manually like in the old days when flight tickets cost more than $1K," Shemetovets told Reuters. "It would just be unprofitable, meaning the company would keep sustaining losses just to save face." She said that Aeroflot's CEO had not changed his password since 2022 and that the company was using an outdated version of Windows software. Some workers had passwords saved in a Word document on their computers, she added. Reuters could not independently confirm those details and has approached Aeroflot for comment. Aeroflot's shares were up 1.36 per cent on Tuesday, recovering some ground after slumping to their lowest mark since late 2024 on Monday. Russian lawmakers said the cyberattack was a wake-up call and that investigators should focus not only on the perpetrators but on those who had allowed it to happen. Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Internet Protection Society, a Russian digital rights group, said it was a serious episode that showed cybercriminals were learning "best practice" from around the world while Russian companies were hampered in their response because of sanctions. "It's like with viruses: If you don't communicate with people who have the flu, you have no immunity," he told Reuters. Klimarev said Russian security services had dropped the ball, and the incident highlighted a failure of the technical systems that are meant to allow them to counter such threats. He said there was a grave safety risk as the hackers could hypothetically have exploited their access to Aeroflot systems in order to change data and cause planes to crash.
