Ukraine crisis. News in brief. Tuesday 27 June. [Ukrainian sources]

TUESDAY

Scroll to view news added during the day.

HEADLINES:
Top intelligence officer Shapoval killed in Mercedes explosion in Kyiv.  Trump made a loud statement in the Senate abuse to law new sanctions.  We will try to convince the Macron that Russia was not the aggressor in Ukraine - Peskov.  Russia is stepping up its military potential on all fronts - NATO.  PACE launched impeachment proceedings "friend of the Kremlin" Agramunt.  Trump and Russian opposition leader Navalny joined the list of most influential people on the Internet.  Russia has called the possible cause of massive protests against Putin.  

WEATHER:
Kyiv, Ukraine
26c / 79f HI | RealFeel® 28c / 83f
Precipitation 25%
Partly sunny

A number of Internet service providers in Russia have blocked access to the video on the website of the Elysee Palace with the joint statement of the president of France Emmanuel Makron and the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

According to Tsenzor.NET , he writes about "Echo of Moscow".

Macron said that the aggressor in eastern Ukraine speaks Russian. He added that the Crimea annexation is illegal.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українському  

Adopted by the US Senate bill with enhanced package of sanctions against Russia has no legal force due to a violation of its approval procedure.

According to Tsenzor.NET referring to "Ukrinform" , it was declared White House spokesman Sean Spicer.

"Senate decision was taken in violation of the procedure, so long as the bill does not exist", - he said.

Recall, June 14, the US Senate adopted a bill that imposes additional sanctions against Russia and significantly reduces the powers of the president concerning the abolition of existing sanctions. Later it became known that the document contains provisions which relate to budget financing. According to the Constitution, laws of this kind must first be approved by the House of Representatives and then be considered by the US Senate.

ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українському

PACE is trying to get out of the political crisis by launching impeachment incumbent President Pedro Agramunt.

According to Tsenzor.NET , it said on Facebook head of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, MP from the BPP Vladimir Aryev.

"PACE is trying to get out of the political crisis, in which it started the current president of Agramunt of the flight on the Russian plane to the dictator Assad only that the Assembly voted in favor of impeachment, which can start immediately (although it may continue until the autumn -. Until the next session .) The main cleaning process is running and there is a high chance that it will be completed man who has lost the trust, can not continue to be headed by PACE and discredit the organization ", -. Aryev said.

At the same time, the first vice-speaker Rada, member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Assembly, Irina Gerashchenko, said the unprecedented turnout in the PACE, with essionny hall which "have not seen nearly 100 per cent of deputies present."

"The beginning of the debate on changing the rules of procedure, which opens the way for the resignation of Agramonte All speakers sounds the following:. We will not allow a person who is fooling Assembly and undermines its credibility, destroy PACE He violated the code of honor and conduct he has to go, but when... this all say that now we must unite, unite and work for the return of trust and credibility of PACE, the strengthening of the international organization I'd add:. such shameful presidency in PACE has not yet been Agramunt, when entered in the village. lzhnost, pathetically he said he wanted to go down in history He managed it in a heap RF remote continues to interfere in the PACE work:.. could not manage through their lobbyists, while the Russian decided to discredit and destroy the organization due to scandals and some corrupt, lured by European politicians . Well, today the scenario is stopped. in France, the election friends Kremlin flew as plywood. Today, the Assembly should dismiss the Spanish friend of the Kremlin. Self-isolation of Russia is increasing. And to blame only Russia itself. And our task - the restoration of the authority of the PACE, the return of the principles and fundamentals, to be followed by all members and all member states ", - he wrote the deputy.



ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українському

The Russian Federation will try to convince the president of France Emmanuel Makron under the "Normandy format" is that it is not an aggressor in Ukraine.

As the Tsenzor.NET with reference to UNIAN , about this to journalists said the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the prospects of "Norman format" in the statements Makron June 26 in Paris that the Russian Federation seized the Crimea and the aggressor on Donbas .

"We do not agree with our French colleagues with those formulations that were made yesterday by Mr. President (France), and, of course, the Russian side will continue to patiently explain the real situation and its position on the Ukrainian scene." - Peskov said.

Speaking about the prospects of "Norman format", he stressed that the work of this format becomes more important .

"Norman format is the only non-alternative platform for discussion and to continue attempts to resolve the internal Ukrainian conflict", - Peskov said.

ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українському

NATO said the alliance was confronting efforts by Russia to increase its military capabilities on virtually every level and allies were on guard to prevent any repeat of the Kremlin’s military intervention in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
This was announced by NATO General Petr Pavel, Censor.NET reports citing Politico.

Speaking at a POLITICO Brussels Playbook breakfast Monday, Pavel, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said that while Russia's intentions were not necessarily clear, its growing military prowess was undeniable.

"We in uniform, we define the threat based on two major elements. One is the capability, the other is the intent," Pavel told POLITICO's Ryan Heath. "When it comes to capability there is no doubt that Russia is developing their capabilities both in conventional and nuclear components. When it comes to exercises, their ability to deploy troops for long distance and to use them effectively quite far away from their own territory, there are no doubts."

The Kremlin's intentions were less clear, he said. "When it comes to intent, it's not so clear because we cannot clearly say that Russia has aggressive intents against NATO," the general said.

Still, he noted Russia's increasing military presence, and made reference to reports of the stationing of nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad and Crimea.

"There are elements that have to worry us and we have to stay ready," Pavel said. "So we take this even potential threat very seriously. We do everything possible to be ready both in terms of capabilities and readiness, to face any potential threat that would mirror the situation we know from Crimea, from eastern Ukraine, not to be repeated against any NATO ally."

He added: "We also observe an increased and more assertive attitude in both political and military leadership talking about taking all necessary measures to face NATO military build-up. We face a huge modernization of all Russia military."

In addition to the threat from Russia, Pavel said that NATO was working to increase its efforts on counter-terrorism and that the alliance did not have the luxury of focusing only on threats from state actors.

ua.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українському  

The explosion of a Mercedes vehicle at Solomianska Street in the morning of June 27 in Kyiv killed head of a special purpose unit of Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of Ukraine's MoD Maksym Shapoval.



Censor.NET reports citing Obozrevatel, as informed by own sources.

This was also confirmed by journalist Roman Bochkala, who wrote on Facebook that the person killed in the explosion was Maksym Mykhailovych, an intelligence commander.

"It's a war of terror. Mean and cynical. Rest in peace, dear Friend," Bochkala wrote.

Information available on the accident says the attempt might have been organized by Russian secret services. The explosive device used to blast the car of Shapoval was an equivalent of 500 grams of TNT.

Information that the killed in the Mercedes explosion was an Armed Forces Services officer has been confirmed by Interior Ministry communications department head Artem Shevchenko.

Read more: Head of Sevastopol cooperative building society Haiduk was in blasted Toyota, - source

Shevchenko added that the killed person was a military born in 1978.



en.censor.net.ua, Original in Ukrainian / на українському  

US President Donald Trump and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny hit list of 25 most influential people on the internet version of Time. Trump and Bulk is the most powerful network of politicians.

This was stated in the article Time.

Trump potravyv Time list due to its activity in the microblog Twitter. The publication compared the US president with the writer O. Henry through his ironic publication.

However, the author notes that the recent activity on Twitter Trump brings him more harm than benefit.

In particular, the allegations in the British intelligence listening and recording conversations with former FBI director James Comey.

Russian opposition leader Navalny Time made the list as "an activist of the Russian opposition, which has used YouTube to break the information blockade the Kremlin."

"His channel has over a million followers, and videos that he published, inspired a wave of anti-government protests this year, shedding light on corruption in the government," - said in a statement.

It is noted that since the presence of Navalny on state television minimum, "his campaign must rely on social networks."

First place in the list of Time - American model and television presenter Chrissie Teyhen, which has about 20 million followers on Twitter and Instagram. Popularity Teyhen brought her posts about life model after pregnancy.

The list got the author of books about Harry Potter writer JK Roulin and Bana Alabed girl who wrote messages to social networks during military operations in Aleppo.

hromadske.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українському

The Kremlin could trigger mass protests blocking Internet or scale limitation in that inevitable followed the ban of popular sites and services.

This opinion was expressed in his column on the "Aapostrofi" Russian financier and blogger Slava Rabinovich, commenting Roskomnadzor attempt to block messenger Telegram .

According to him, the Russian government ban Telegram continues creeping attack on free internet.

"They understand that we can not ban all at once in one day if prohibit Internet - people on the street work. They do this creeping way. At the end of last year they banned social professional network Linkedin. It was a test step. They both looked, no one outraged, no one went outside, then you can cut something else. Under this scheme, they gradually cut down various services. Now, perhaps, it was the turn Telegram ", - said Rabinovich.

According to him, all this crowned the next phase of "creeping" coup - Operation of Putin's inauguration in 2018.

Rabinowitz believes that the government is afraid of the Internet itself, because it wants to ban. "Putin never understood and did not understand how to use the Internet. All that they do not realize they are considered dangerous for their regime. Their school KGB were not taught what to do with the Internet" - said the blogger.

In his opinion, a complete shutdown of the Internet in Russia or attempt that could trigger mass protests against the government.

"If they vyrubayut entire Internet, then regret it much earlier than if they began serious problems with the availability of the Internet. I think that the 146 million people in Russia there is a critical mass to organize these bandits are very cheerful life, if the internet is disconnected at all . Disable Internet even in Putin's Russia today is not possible - the whole economy will come to a complete chaos "- summed up the Russian financier.

More about the prospects of a ban Telegram read column Rabinovacha Glory "Putin is afraid of: in preparing new ban on Internet" published on "apostrophe".

apostrophe.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українському

Big companies targeted worldwide as hackers demand ransom paid in bitcoins

Some of the world’s largest companies including WPP, Rosneft, and Maersk have confirmed that they have been hit by a large-scale cyber attack that has already taken critical government infrastructure in Ukraine offline on Tuesday.

The ransomware attack bears similarities to WannaCry, an attack that infected hundreds of thousands of computers in 150 countries last month, according to cyber security experts. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the malware.

Researchers at Group IB, a Moscow-based cyber security company, said the hackers used a cryptolocker called Petya, which shut down access to computers and displayed a message demanding a $300 ransom from users, payable in bitcoins.

Dozens of companies were being linked with the attack on social media, with WPP, Rosneft, Maersk and DLA Piper, the law firm, among those that had confirmed they had been hit by Tuesday afternoon.

The attacks were also widespread in Ukraine, affecting Ukrenergo, the state power distributor, and several of the country’s banks.

Pavlo Rozenko, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, tweeted a photo of a computer screen displaying an energy message. “The network is down,” he wrote.

Maersk said in a statement: “We can confirm that Maersk IT systems are down across multiple sites and business units. We are currently assessing the situation.”

WPP, the world’s biggest advertising group, said on Tuesday: “IT systems in several WPP companies have been affected by a suspected cyber attack. We are assessing the situation, taking appropriate measures and will update as soon as possible.”

The website for the holding group, which owns agencies such as Group M, MediaCom and Burson-Marsteller, was unavailable.

Rosneft, the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, said it had moved to a reserve oil production system after a “powerful” hacking attack that took down its website and that of its subsidiary Bashneft.

The company said it had contacted the authorities and warned on Twitter that “distributors of false, alarmist messages will be treated as accomplices of the organisers of the attack and held accountable”......................

Access complete text of the editorial: ft.com  In English

Ransomware hit at least six countries Tuesday, including Ukraine, where it was blamed for a large and coordinated attack on key parts of Ukraine's infrastructure, from government agencies and electric grids to stores and banks.

The malware is being called "Petya" — but in the security community, there is a debate over whether the ransomware is new or a variant that has been enhanced to make it harder to stop.

In either case, experts warn that it could spread globally, raising fears of another widespread attack like the WannaCry outbreak that struck in May.

The Maersk shipping company, based in Denmark, has confirmed that its "IT systems are down across multiple sites and business units due to a cyber attack."

In the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security spokesman Scott McConnell says the agency is "monitoring reports of cyber attacks affecting multiple global entities and is coordinating with our international and domestic cyber partners."

Any requests for help from DHS, McConnell says, are confidential.

Computers that are hit by the malware display a locked screen that demands a $300 bitcoin payment to retrieve files.

The malware promises to provide a specialized key to users who pay a ransom of $300 in bitcoins — the same ploy used by the infamous WannaCry ransomware that struck computers in more than 150 countries last month.

WannaCry was based on exploits stolen from the National Security Agency — including a program called EternalBlue, which exploited a Microsoft vulnerability. Petya reportedly shares some of WannaCry's traits — but while computers that had gotten a security patch were safe from WannaCry, Petya can also infect patched machines.

F-Secure executive Mikko Hypponen‏ says that Petya uses other exploits to spread in internal systems. "That's why patched systems can get hit.".....................

Access complete text of the editorial: npr.org  In English

Ukraine struck a large-scale attack of the virus.
Tsenzor.NET publishes a list of sites that were attacked Petya.A virus.

government
cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Ministry of culture
Ministry of Finance
Natspolitsiya (and regional sites)
KCSA
Ministry of Energy
The National Bank

Banks
Savings
Sberbank
TASKomertsbank
Ukrgasbank
Southern
OTP bank
Kredobank

Transport
The airport "Borispol"
Kyiv subway
UZ

Media
Radio Era-FM
Football.ua
STB
Inter
First natsionalnyyTelekanal 24
Radio "Lux"
Radio "Maximum"
"KP in Ukraine"
ATP Channel
"Korrespondent.net"

Large companies
"New post"
"Kyivenergo"
"Naftogaz Ukraine"
DTEK
"Dniproenergo"
"Kyivvodocanal"
"Novus"
"Epicenter"
"Arsellor Mittal"
"Ukrtelecom"
"Ukrposhta"

Mobile operators
Lifecell
Kyivstar
Vodafone Ukraine

Medicine
"Farmak"
Boris Clinic
Hospital Feofaniya
Corporation Arterium

stations
Shell
WOG
Klo
TNK

Abroad
"Rosneft"

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українському  

Due to the powerful cyber attacks on information systems a wide range of national cyber security coordination center operates on rapid response protocol.

As the Tsenzor.NET, this in comments reported NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov.

He said that all state institutions fulfilled recommendations of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center and included in the protected circuit (protected Internet access node) is not affected.

"Now experts on cyber security on-line assist government agencies that subjective reasons not included in the protected contour, critical infrastructure and the banking sector", - said Turchinov, adding that now, analyzing primary virus You can talk about the Russian track.

However, the NSDC Secretary stressed that insists that the decision of the National Cybersecurity Coordination Center - "it's not optional, and is binding on all state institutions."

"There is the need for all government agencies to enter the protected contour of the Internet and fulfill all the requirements of cybersecurity professionals. We also recommend to do so and banking institutions, primarily the state," - he stressed.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українському

It informs Tsenzor.NET referring to DW , This was stated by the Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (BSI).

In BSI urged firms and companies that have been victims of hackers and inform the agency should never pay ransom.

Among the German companies affected by the attacks in Ukraine, appeared local office trading group Metro and courier service DHL group Deutsche Post. In addition, the computer system has undergone attack group Beiersdorf - one of the world's leading manufacturers of skin care products.

On cyber said Russia, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, UK and USA.

According to German experts, the current attack speed and degree of distribution very similar to the effect of the virus WannaCry, who in May blocked hundreds of thousands of computers in 150 countries.

Recall virus called Petya uses the same hole in the software that the previous virus-extortionist. Once in the computer, it encrypts information on the hard disk and demands ransom for the opportunity to resume work.

ua.censor.net.ua , Original in Ukrainian / на українському  

Ransomware exploiting same vulnerability as "WannaCry" hits computers around the world

Large global companies including WPP, Rosneft, Merck and AP Moller-Maersk have been hit by a large-scale cyber attack that also targeted Ukrainian government and bank infrastructure, ATMs and supermarket checkouts.

Justin Harvey, who leads the global response team at Accenture, a professional services company, said he had spoken to a dozen large companies with hundreds of thousands of computers.

Most victims are in Ukraine, followed by Russia and other European countries. There were early reports of attacks on US hospitals, which may be related.

What did the attack do?

Ransomware exploiting the same vulnerability as WannaCry, which swept through networks ranging from the UK’s National Health Service to FedEx last month, hit computers around the world on Tuesday.

The malicious software uses encryption to prevent users accessing their computers without paying a $300 ransom in bitcoin. Unlike most ransomware, it does not just encrypt files, which a company can back up, but affects a machine’s ability to operate.

Adam Meyers, vice-president of intelligence at CrowdStrike, said the software was particularly “insidious” because it could infect machines on its own without any human action.

More than 20 companies have paid the ransom but the email used by the attackers has been suspended, making it unclear if the attackers could respond to requests for the decryption key.

How did hackers get into these networks?..................


Access complete text of the editorial:  ft.com In English

A colossal cyberattack on Tuesday has been wreaking havoc on countries and corporations across the globe, and some cybersecurity experts are zeroing in on a familiar name as the possible culprit.

The attack, dubbed "Petya," is a ransomware worm that has so far targeted, among others, Ukrainian banks and airports; Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft; British advertising company WPP, US pharmaceutical giant Merck; and shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk, which said every branch of its business was affected.

Analysts at several cybersecurity firms have confirmed that the Petya assault utilized a powerful and dangerous cyberweapon reated by the National Security Agency that was leaked in April by the hacker group Shadow Brokers.

Though it's too soon to be certain, experts say it seems as though a confluence of factors may be pointing to Russian state involvement in carrying out the attack.

'Ukraine was targeted'

Ukraine was hardest hit by the attack, which came one day before the country's Constitution Day.

Russia and Ukraine's rocky relationship has been well-documented, and it has seen a steep decline since Russia annexed the territory of Crimea in 2014 and steadily pursued greater military aggression towards its neighbor.

"The first thing that raises a red flag to me is that right now, Ukraine's main antagonist is Russia," said Alex McGeorge, the head of threat intelligence at Immunity, Inc., a cybersecurity firm that specializes in nation-state cyber threats.

McGeorge added that the methodology of the the attack also "gives a really good and stable foothold on networks that would matter to somebody who was interested in attacking Ukraine."

"If I'm interested in disrupting Ukraine, this is great for me," he said.......................

Access complete text of the editorial: businessinsider.com  In English