TV and radio broadcasts in several regions of Russia were reportedly hacked Monday, resulting in the airing of a broadcast featured a voice purporting to be that of Russian President Vladimir Putin stating that Ukrainian forces had invaded the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the broadcast a result of a “break-in” by hackers and said it was under investigation, Radio Free Europe reported.
Those Russian regions have occasionally been targeted in cross-border strikes during the war.
The impersonator announced that martial law was declared in those regions, where people were being urged to evacuate, and all Russians eligible for military duty were being mobilized.
The Russian military said Monday it had repelled the latest Ukrainian incursion into the Belgorod region, on the border in Ukraine. Russians who purport to be fighting alongside Ukrainian forces said they attacked on Sunday. They were driven back by airstrikes and artillery fire, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
At least two factors have been at play in the counteroffensive’s timing: better ground conditions for the movement of troops and equipment after the winter, and the deployment of more advanced Western weapons and training of Ukrainian troops to use them.
Ukraine’s Western allies have sent the country more than €65 billion, or $70 billion, in military aid to help its defense. Driving out the Kremlin’s forces is a daunting challenge for Kyiv’s planners. Russia has built extensive defensive lines, including trenches, minefields and anti-tank obstacles.
MarketWatch contributed.
