In a sweeping cyber operation, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has successfully penetrated and dismantled the internal digital systems of the Russian-installed occupation administration in Crimea. Over the course of several days, cyber specialists from Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (DIU), also known as HUR, launched a coordinated digital offensive that not only paralyzed the Crimean authorities’ information infrastructure but also extracted an immense volume of sensitive data.
The operation began with a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack that disabled the networks of key regional and district government institutions in the occupied peninsula. While Russian-installed officials scrambled to assess the cause of the disruption, Ukrainian cyber teams infiltrated the leadership’s digital accounts and administrative platforms.
The breach granted Ukraine’s team full access to several government systems, including DIALOG, SED, Delo, 1C:Document Management, Directum, and ATLAS. These platforms contain records related to administration, accounting, military coordination, and communications. Over two days, Ukrainian cyber operatives downloaded approximately 100 terabytes of documents from the Crimean occupation authorities’ servers. Among the data were files labeled “secret” and “top secret,” including logistics records and operational details on Russian military activity and infrastructure on the peninsula.
Following the data extraction, the Ukrainian team wiped clean the content from all accessed servers, effectively erasing the administrative backbone of the occupying government. This included ministries, regional and district offices, and affiliated agencies.
According to a source within Ukrainian intelligence, the operation revealed material that will likely expose internal operations and misconduct by Russian forces in Crimea. The source made a sarcastic remark thanking Anton Lyaskovsky, Deputy Minister of Health in the occupation government, for inadvertently aiding the success of the breach.
Moscow’s response has been swift. Russia’s State Duma described the operation as an element of “hybrid war,” while the Ministry of Internal Policy, Information, and Communications in Crimea acknowledged that service restoration efforts were underway, though full functionality might not return quickly.
This cyberattack is part of a broader strategy by Ukrainian intelligence aimed at disrupting Russia’s control over occupied territories. In recent months, similar cyber intrusions have targeted Gazprom infrastructure, major telecom companies in Siberia, Russian Railways, and drone suppliers to the Russian military.
Crimea has been under Russian control since 2014 following an internationally condemned annexation. It serves as a major operational hub for Russian military logistics and weapon deployments. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated their intention to reintegrate the peninsula and dismantle Russia’s infrastructure there.
The recent breach marks one of the largest cyber operations carried out during the ongoing conflict. By accessing and removing a massive archive of internal documents, Ukraine has both crippled the administrative functioning of the Crimean occupation government and gathered intelligence that could fuel legal and strategic responses in the months ahead.
As Ukrainian analysts comb through the extracted files, officials suggest further revelations are expected regarding activities within the Russian-controlled administration in Crimea.
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