The international hacking group, Anonymous, appears to have declared a "cyber war" against Vladimir Putin's government after he launched an invasion of Ukraine, Fox News reports.
The group, which has conducted cyberattacks against both governments and corporations, made the announcement on their Twitter account on Thursday, February 24.
The "Anons" all wear signature masks and their mission is "for a better future for humanity".
The YourAnonNews Twitter account, which has over 6 million followers, made the stark declaration, saying that the hacking group is "currently involved in operations against the Russian Federation."
"We want the Russian people to understand that we know it's hard for them to speak out against their dictator for fear of reprisals," it said.
"We, as a collective want only peace in the world," it continued. "We want a future for all of humanity. So, while people around the globe smash your internet providers to bits, understand that it's entirely directed at the actions of the Russian government and Putin."
RT.com, which is a Russian government-funded media outlet that the US State Department describes as an important element in "Russia’s disinformation and propaganda ecosystem," said that it had been targeted in what is believed to be a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. A DDoS attack refers to the process of ensuring a website goes down by flooding it with traffic.
RT.com's coverage of the invasion has been pro-Russian, showing fireworks and celebrations in the newly occupied territories.
Websites for the Kremlin and State Duma lower house of parliament were also unavailable for some periods of time on Thursday, which may have been the result of DDoS attacks.
As reported by Reuters, Defense Ministry officials in Ukraine requested assistance from the country's hacker underground on Thursday morning to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.
Yegor Aushev, the co-founder of a cybersecurity company in Kyiv, told Reuters that offensive volunteers will carry out digital espionage against Russia's military, while defensive volunteers will assist in protecting the country's infrastructure.
A number of Ukrainian government websites were hit by DDoS attacks on Thursday as Russian troops advanced closer to Kyiv.
A homeland security official told FOX Business on Thursday that the US government is preparing for potential cyberattacks on the country's financial institutions.
