Ukraine claims to have arrested ‘hacker’ helping Russians

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) claimed on Tuesday that a “hacker” who had assisted Russia had been detained by officials.

The agency “detained a hacker who provided the occupiers with mobile communications in Ukraine,” the SSU wrote in a message on Telegram.

“With the help of this collaborator, the enemy: anonymously made phone calls from Russia to the mobile phones of the invaders in Ukraine; sent SMS messages to Ukrainian security officers and civil servants with proposals to surrender and side with the occupiers; passed commands and instructions to advanced groups of Russian invaders,” it added.

The SSU said the alleged hacker’s equipment had been confiscated and that he would be “held accountable for all the severity of the law.”

The security agency noted that up to 1,000 calls had been facilitated in one day alone by the alleged hacker, a portion of which it said came from the Russian military’s “top leadership.”

The SSU provided several photos of the alleged hacker, whose face was censored, and his equipment. Ukrainian officials did not release his name or any identifying information in their notice.

The development comes nearly three weeks since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Tuesday that President Biden would be visiting Brussels to attend a European Union summit and a NATO leaders summit, both of which will touch on the conflict in Ukraine.

As of now, Biden is not scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but the details of the trip are still being finalized. 

The trip follows one that Vice President Harris took earlier this month to Romania and Poland, where she met with European leaders and reiterated support for the international military alliance.