U.S., Britain concerned over possible Russian cyber attacks on Ukraine's power grids - media

The United States and Britain have deployed cyberwarfare experts in Ukraine amid the latest concerns that Russia could attack Ukrainian power grids this winter.

That’s according to a report by The New York Times, Ukrinform reports.

The quiet move by the two countries apparently aims at better preparing the country for countering cyber attacks, the newspaper suggests.

It is stressed that in addition to amassing 175,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders, the Putin regime may also threaten the neighboring nation with cyber attacks that could shut down the power grid, the banking system, and major components of government and economy.

As the Ukrainian electric grid was built during the Soviet era and remains connected to Russia, culprits are familiar with the software used in Ukrainian systems.

According to U.S. intelligence, Russia's goal may be to portray Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as incompetent and weak, and possibly to create a pretext for an invasion, as per the report.

Meanwhile, the newspaper writes, Russian cyber attacks against Ukraine are ongoing. However, they intensified over the past month, while public attention has been mostly focused on a buildup of troops.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine is among the countries that suffer the most from Russian cyber attacks. The United States and Great Britain have also been targeted.

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