Russian President Vladimir Putin’s catastrophic war on Ukraine has produced footage that leaves TV viewers reeling, all while sitting U.S. senators potentially endanger Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by tweeting screencaps of Zoom meetings. Meanwhile, the Anonymous collective group of hackers quickly came together (while also apart, which is a key feature of their existence) to wage cyber war on Russia while taking down Russian state TV stations and government websites, where they breached and leaked database information from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Over the weekend, Anonymous (they who customarily insert the “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. Expect us” mantra) claimed to have infiltrated Russian live TV channels (including Russia 24, Channel One, Moscow 24) and streaming services while inserting war footage. They then apparently posted a message against Putin’s war on Ukraine.
The hacking collective #Anonymous hacked into the Russian streaming services Wink and Ivi (like Netflix) and live TV channels Russia 24, Channel One, Moscow 24 to broadcast war footage from Ukraine [today] pic.twitter.com/hzqcXT1xRU
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) March 6, 2022
JUST IN: #Russian state TV channels have been hacked by #Anonymous to broadcast the truth about what happens in #Ukraine. #OpRussia #OpKremlin #FckPutin #StandWithUkriane pic.twitter.com/vBq8pQnjPc
— Anonymous TV
(@YourAnonTV) February 26, 2022
Hacker collective Anonymous today hacked into streaming services and news channels in Russia to broadcast footage of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
I love these guys.
— Raj Keplerhume (@RajKeplerhume) March 7, 2022
The Kyiv Independent news outlet claims to have verified that this happened.
Hacking group Anonymous interrupts Russian state TV programs with footage of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and an anti-war message.
It claims to have accessed TV channels “Russia 24”, “Channel 1”, “Moscow 24”, & streaming services Wink and Ivi.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 7, 2022
It’s important to note that Anonymous, given their (obviously) anonymous nature, doesn’t operate through verified Twitter accounts, so fact-checking can be difficult. However (and via Mediaite), a purported Anonymous account tweeted a link to an article that translates the following message:
“We are ordinary citizens of Russia. We oppose the war on the territory of Ukraine. Russia and the Russians against the war! This war was waged by Putin’s criminal, authoritarian regime on behalf of ordinary Russian citizens. Russians, oppose the genocide in Ukraine, “the text reads.
Booyah, they did it! Anonymous said they’d hack the Russian TV broadcasts, and they bloody well did it. Brilliant. #Anonymous says #FuckPutin! https://t.co/drH2pgdarT
— case (@Case_Sys9) March 7, 2022
And while all of this is happening, Russian police detained another 4600+ civilians (most of whom are Russian citizens) during ongoing anti-war protests.
(Via Mediaite)