Lithuania calls on Ukraine to strike more Russian data centers

Ukraine's allies should encourage President Volodymyr Zelensky to strike more data centers in Russia, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said at the Warsaw Security Forum.

“We should ask Zelensky to attack more data centers in Russia. I think that would help“, Sinkevičius said in response to a question about how Lithuania, Poland and other allies can protect elections from hybrid attacks.

According to him, allies should make significant investments in the fight against disinformation. The Lithuanian Prime Minister warned that Russia uses multiple channels to reach citizens and influence public attitudes.

Three attacks on „Yandex“ centers

In the past week, three attacks were reported on data centers of the Russian company „Yandex“. It operates the most popular search engine in Russia, as well as food delivery and taxi ordering services used by millions of people.

The reports of the attacks appeared weeks after Russia began attacking data centers in Ukraine. This gave rise to speculation that Kiev may have launched a retaliatory campaign against Russian internet infrastructure.

However, the connection between the attacks and a possible decrease in the activity of Russian trolls has not yet been confirmed by independent experts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a change was felt on social networks after the attacks on „Yandex“ centers.

„When we started to respond to the Russian operation against our data centers, suddenly it became a little easier to breathe on many social networks. There was less hatred, less division and less provocations. Because there were fewer bots,“ Zelensky said.

Disinformation as a hybrid threat

Sinkevichus expressed a similar position, saying that Russian information operations can reach citizens through different channels.

„There are many channels capable of reaching citizens and brainwashing them. Sometimes Russia tries to change narratives, distancing them from reality,“ the Lithuanian Prime Minister pointed out.

His statement places the attacks on data centers in the broader context of hybrid warfare, which, along with military actions, uses cyberattacks, disinformation and influence operations. So far, there is no confirmation that the decrease in bot activity is a direct result of the attacks on “Yandex“ infrastructure.

Sources: bta.bg, en.interfax.com.ua