Ukrainian hackers force Russian TV to broadcast hourslong footage of battlefield losses

On the evening of August 24, Ukraine’s Independence Day, Russians were forced to watch a video detailing the real losses of Russia’s army in the war against Ukraine and other “achievements” of the war, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing sources in Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Defense Ministry.

Local cyber-partisans reportedly broke into the Russian provider “No. 3” and pushed “unauthorized” footage about the real results of Russia’s war against Ukraine to 116 TV channels at once.

The cyber activists also blocked the provider’s administrators from accessing servers to make it harder to interrupt the “partisan” broadcast.

“As a result, at least 50,000 subscribers in Moscow and other regions of the Russian Federation watched for more than three consecutive hours explosions at Russian oil refineries and endless vistas of Russian soldiers’ graves during evening prime time on their TV screens,” the agency’s source said.

The video was additionally made available via apps in the Apple Store, Google Play and on Smart TV, as well as in other cable networks.

Separately, Russia has faced serious air-travel disruptions. Aeroflot said it canceled more than 40 flights from Moscow due to an “information systems failure.”

Aeroflot later acknowledged a “catastrophe” with flights due to hackers.