A Russian radio station was hacked and it started broadcasting Ukrainian anthems on the channel before being pulled off-air. Kommersant FM, which is owned by an oligarch who is close to President Vladimir Putin, was hacked and started playing anti-war songs and Ukrainian military anthems.
The channel was running its news bulletin at lunchtime when hackers targeted it and started playing "Oh the red viburnum in the meadow," a Ukrainian military anthem.
Alisher Usmanov Owns Kommersant FM
The radio station is owned by Alisher Usmanov, a Russian businessman and one of the favorites oligarch of Putin. Usmanov also owns Kommersant national newspaper in Russia, according to Daily Mail.
Chief Editor Admits Channel Was Hacked
Alexey Vorobyov, the chief editor of Kommersant FM, admitted that the radio channel was hacked and stated that technical experts were finding the source of the attack and trying to fix its internet stream.
"Russian radio station Kommersant FM has been hacked and is currently playing Ukrainian and anti-war songs. Midway through a news bulletin not long ago, the patriotic Ukrainian song "Oh, red viburnum in the meadow", started playing," tweeted BBC reporter Francis Scarr.
EU Had Imposed Sanctions Against Usmanov
The radio station's owner Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union after Putin's Ukraine invasion. The bloc had imposed a travel ban on the oligarch and seized all of the assets.
Washington had also taken similar actions against Usmanov and froze his all assets.
Anonymous Had Also Launched Cyberattack Against Russia
During the beginning of the Ukraine war in late February, Kremlin-backed 3 news sites, including that of the Tass news agency, went down as hacker collective Anonymous widened their cyberattack against Russia.
TASS, Kommersant, and Fontanka could not be accessed following the cyberattack. The message posted on the Tass site read: "Putin makes us lie and puts us in danger."
When Fontaka was tried to be accessed a message signed by Anonymous urges citizens to 'stop this madness' and says Vladimir Putin has 'put us in danger.
