Russia has accused the US of waging a massive campaign of “cyber-aggression” to counter its invasion of Ukraine — as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “personal insults” have marred ties and calls for more security dialogue.
The attacks came even amid signs of possible progress in talks between Ukraine and Russia, which are taking place in Turkey – sending conflicting signals about prospects for diplomatic progress amid Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.
“One way or another, sooner or later, we will have to talk about issues of strategic stability and security and so on,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Russia announced it would “radically reduce” military activity outside of Kyiv and Chernihiv after “meaningful” negotiations took place in Turkey on Tuesday, days after signaling it would expand its military targets after completing the initial phase of its ” Operation” in Ukraine would change.
Amid the swirling events, President Biden began a call with top European allies about Ukraine.
French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi took part in the conference call, which began Tuesday morning.
They were to “discuss the latest developments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” according to a brief statement from the White House.
President Joe Biden said Monday he was expressing his “personal feelings” when speaking about Putin, saying he “can’t stay in power.” He repeatedly declined to answer questions about a meeting with Putin
Macron has maintained communications with Putin and is attempting to negotiate a ceasefire. He told broadcaster France 3 on Sunday following Biden’s comments: “If we are going to do this, we cannot escalate in words or deeds.”
Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of waging a massive campaign of “cyber aggression” behind hundreds of thousands of malicious attacks per day while Russia deploys troops in Ukraine.
The State Department said media, critical infrastructure and life support systems had been attacked, with the unprecedented scale pointing to US- and NATO-trained special forces and hackers acting on behalf of Kiev’s Western sponsors.
The allegations come days after the White House said Russia was preparing for cyberattacks and warned US businesses and infrastructure to beef up their own safeguards.
“The sources of the attacks will be identified and the attackers will inevitably be held accountable for their actions in accordance with the law,” the Russian statement said.
TABLE TALK: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Ilya Chukalin, CEO of the Presidential Grants Foundation, at the Kremlin in Moscow March 29, 2022
“One way or another, sooner or later we will have to talk about issues of strategic stability and security and so on,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
French President Emmanuel Macron called out “escalation” after Biden said Putin could not remain in power
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also took part in the Biden call. He spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday
NBC News reported last month that US President Joe Biden had been presented with options including shutting down Russia’s internet, electricity and railroad switches. But the White House said that was “wildly wrong.”
The foreign ministry said it believes the Ukrainian government, which announced it would form an “IT army” in February, was implicated and had launched an “offensive cyber force”.
The cybersecurity department of Russian telecommunications company Rostelecom and Russia’s Digital Ministry have both reported cyberattacks.
Peskov’s complaint about insults came after Biden called Putin a “butcher” after meeting Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw. He has also called Putin a “murderer” amid the Russian invasion, which has resulted in millions of refugees, the collapse of buildings and civilian casualties.
Biden also ended his Warsaw speech on Saturday by saying, “For God’s sake, this man can’t stay in power.”
“Personal insults cannot help but leave their mark on relations between heads of state,” Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
However, he said: “One way or another, sooner or later we will have to talk about issues of strategic stability and security and so on.”
Biden said Monday he was expressing his “personal feelings” when speaking about Putin and was not setting regime change policies. “I expressed the moral outrage I felt towards this man,” he said.
He also dismissed the idea that his words complicated diplomacy with Russia. “I don’t think it complicates things,” he said.
Biden also declined repeated direct questions as to whether he would meet with Putin again.
“The question is: is there anything he could meet about that would justify him ending this war and rebuilding Ukraine? That’s the problem,” Biden said.