War in Ukraine
- www.lawfaremedia.org Cyber Conflict and Subversion in the Russia-Ukraine War
Cyber operations reveal their limitations as means of warfare, but territorial conquest opens unique opportunities for exploitation.
Cyber Conflict and Subversion in the Russia-Ukraine War
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- URL: https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/cyber-conflict-in-the-russia-ukraine-war
Highlights
>The Russia-Ukraine war is the first case of cyber conflict in a large-scale military conflict involving a major power.
>Contrary to cyberwar fears, most cyber operations remained strategically inconsequential, but there are several exceptions: the AcidRain operation, the UKRTelecom disruption, the September 2022 power grid sabotage, and the catastrophic Kyivstar outage of 2023.
>These developments suggest hacking groups are increasingly fusing cyber operations with traditional subversive methods to improve effectiveness.
>The first exceptional case is AcidRain. This advanced malware knocked out satellite communication provided by Viasat’s K-SAT service across Europe the very moment the invasion commenced. Among the customers of the K-SAT service: Ukraine’s military. The operation that deployed this malware stands out not only because it shows a direct linkage to military goals but also because it could have plausibly produced a clear tactical, potentially strategic, advantage for Russian troops at a decisive moment.
>The second exception is a cyber operation in March 2022 that caused a massive outage of UKRTelecom, a major internet provider in Ukraine. It took only a month to prepare yet caused significant damage. It cut off over 80 percent of UKRTelecom’s customers from the internet for close to 24 hours.
>Finally, the potentially most severe challenge to the theory of subversion is a power grid sabotage operation in September 2022. The operation stands out not only because it used a novel technique but also because it took very little preparation. According to Mandiant, it required only two months of preparation and used what is called “living off the land” techniques, namely foregoing malware and using only existing functionality.
>After all, why go through the trouble of finding vulnerabilities in complex networks and develop sophisticated exploits when you can take the easy route via an employee, or even direct network access?
- www.straitstimes.com Poland, Lithuania say can help return military-aged men to Ukraine
Poland has tens of thousands of Ukrainian men of military age on its territory, according to UN figures. Read more at straitstimes.com.
- www.bbc.com Ukraine war: Nato pledges more advanced air defences to Kyiv
Kyiv has long been pressing for hi-tech Patriot systems to defend against deadly Russian attacks.
- www.noahpinion.blog Americans are still not worried enough about the risk of world war
In which I try to be Gandalf instead of Cassandra.
- www.politico.eu France to provide new missiles, used armored vehicles to Ukraine, defense minister says
Paris would send ‘hundreds’ of vehicles over the next year, Sébastien Lecornu tells La Tribune Dimanche.
- www.theguardian.com Poland activates air force as western Ukraine and Kyiv come under ‘massive’ Russian attack
Poland says Russian missile targeting Ukraine’s Lviv region violated its airspace while Kyiv suffers third pre-dawn attack in four days
- abcnews.go.com Pope Francis' 'white flag' comment is met by criticism from Ukraine and allies
Ukrainian and allied officials have criticized Pope Francis for saying that Kyiv should have the “courage” to negotiate an end to the war with Russia
- theins.press Catching spiders: Russia’s drone companies and sanctions evasion
Unsanctioned entities are helping Russia’s drone manufacturers procure the components they need to keep the Kremlin’s war machine running, even as its losses in Ukraine continue to mount. Two primary offenders, Special Technology Centre (STC) and Zala Aero, receive components from more than 70 unsan...
Companies that seemingly find workarounds for sanctions
- www.lawfaremedia.org Why Zelensky Replaced Ukraine’s Top General and What It Means for the War
The civil-military rift became untenable, but the way ahead is not going to be easy.
- www.uawire.org Denmark to transfer entire artillery arsenal to Ukraine
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced that the Danish government intends to transfer the country's entire artillery arsenal to Ukraine. During her address at the 7th Ukrainian Lunch in Munich, she emphasized the significance of such support and called on other European nations to lik...
- boingboing.net Russians are using Starlink in their war on Ukraine
After playing games with providing Starlink services to the Ukrainian armed forces, it appears Russia is showing off new Starlink terminals on the battlefield.
- engelsbergideas.com Why Zelenskyy fired Zaluzhnyi
The Ukrainian president has turned to new military leadership in the hope that it will end the stalemate in the war against Russia.
- mickryan.substack.com Russia’s Mass Air Attack
The Objectives and Implications of the 29 December Attacks
- www.theguardian.com Ukraine to change conscription policies in drive to sustain fighting capacity
Changes to include use of commercial recruitment firms to carry out more targeted conscription, say officials
- therecord.media Ukraine security services involved in hack of Russia’s largest private bank
Ukrainian hackers collaborated with the country's security services, the SBU, to breach Russia's Alfa-Bank.
- plus.thebulwark.com Missiles and Momentum in Ukraine
Recent successes in the war to defeat the Russian invasion.
- mickryan.substack.com Moral and Psychological Preparation
An Important Component of the Ukrainian Way of War
- meduza.io ‘Shut his mouth, or you’ll all be shot’ How Russian occupation forces transformed the Ukrainian city of Melitopol into ‘Europe’s largest prison’ — Meduza
Russian troops entered Melitopol at the very start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, report journalists at iStories, the city has become a center of partisan resistance and simultaneously “the largest prison in Europe,” where Russian soldiers kidnap and torture residents with impuni...
- www.nytimes.com First Abrams Tanks Arrive in Ukraine, U.S. Officials Say
An initial batch of tanks arrived months ahead of estimates, and in time to be used in Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia, officials said.
- abcnews.go.com Biden announces new military aid package for Ukraine as Zelenskyy visits Washington
U.S. President Joe Biden announced Thursday a new military aid package for Ukraine worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
- www.theguardian.com Ukraine war turns the tables as Russia seeks help from North Korea
Kim Jong-un’s grandfather founded North Korea with the backing of the Soviet Union, and was heavily reliant on its aid for decades
- www.forbes.com Ukraine’s TB-2 Drones Are Back In Action. That’s An Ominous Sign For Russia.
Months after virtually disappearing from Ukraine’s skies, the Ukrainian armed forces’ Bayraktar TB-2 drones are back in action.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/4428644
> Months after virtually disappearing from Ukraine’s skies, the Ukrainian armed forces’ Bayraktar TB-2 drones are back in action. > > Videos that appeared online on Sunday depict the 1,500-pound, propeller-driven drones—which can range hundreds of miles—striking a Russian patrol boat and supply truck in occupied southern Ukraine. > > That TB-2s are venturing south into nominally Russian-controlled air space implies two things: that Kyiv has managed to rebuild its TB-2 force, nine months after Russian air-defenses badly attrited the 70-drone force. > > The TB-2’s dramatic reappearance also points to the steady degradation of Russian air-defenses across swathes of southern Ukraine as Kyiv’s 2023 counteroffensive grinds into its fourth month—and Ukrainian brigades make slow but steady progress along two main axes in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk Oblasts.
- news.yahoo.com Russians spent 60% of time and resources on their first line of defence, which was broken through by Ukraine's forces – Tarnavskyi
In an interview with the Observer, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Tavriia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces, said that the Russian forces spent 60% of their time and resources on the construction of the first line of defence, and only 20% for t...
- www.independent.co.uk The ‘Vampire’ rocket system helping Ukraine shoot down Russia’s kamikaze drones
While the Ministry of Defence says Russia is likely struggling with detecting Ukrainian drones – a number of a US-made counter-drone launcher have arrived in Ukraine and are being used by Kyiv’s troops
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Ukrainians exceed expectations again - NATO Secretary General on counter-offensive
www.pravda.com.ua Ukrainians exceed expectations again � NATO Secretary General on counteroffensiveNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, assessing the counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Defence Forces, has said that the Ukrainians are exceeding expectations.
cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/Ukraine_UA/t/410496
> NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, assessing the counter-offensive of the Defence Forces, has said that the Ukrainians are exceeding expectations.
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- www.nytimes.com The pope’s praise for Russia’s historic empire draws sharp criticism.
“Never forget the legacy,” Francis said in a video speech on Friday to young Catholics in St. Petersburg. “You are the heirs of Great Russia: Great Russia of saints, rulers, Great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire.”
h/t - @[email protected]
- www.wsj.com U.S., Allies Seek Long-Term Military Aid for Ukraine to Show West’s Resolve
The pledges have been made, but weapons shortages and domestic political pressures are hampering the Western efforts.
- srslyriskybiz.substack.com Why Russia's Cyber War Against Ukraine Failed
PLUS: Advanced Persistent Teenagers
- www.forkingpaths.co Prigozhin is dead. But Putin is now weaker.
Russia's dictator may have eliminated one threat to his power, but he just created fresh ones. And the cracks in his regime are starting to show.
