TASS: Russian Hackers Find Documents Alleging NATO Directs Ukrainian Attacks

Citing material received from an anonymous group, the Russian state news agency TASS claims that Russian hackers have obtained documents regarding the direct involvement of the NATO military alliance in Ukraine’s attacks on Russian territory.

TASS reports that the hackers gained access to documents concerning Ukrainian attacks on oil terminals in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions carried out in July.

The hackers told the Russian agency that the correspondence and documents reveal who provided the precise coordinates of the facilities and who „encouraged Ukraine to carry out terrorist acts“ in Russian regions.

They claim that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) received the coordinates of oil terminals in the Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions from Bart De Vahter, a hybrid warfare specialist from the organization Hybrid Analyze Vigilant Network (HAVN).

The agency states that, according to the documents provided by the Russian hackers, HAVN is connected with NATO special operations and intelligence forces.

The hackers said that De Vahter sent the SBU representative intelligence data containing the coordinates of a Gazprom tanker transporting liquefied natural gas.

They claim the documents indicate that De Vahter proposed holding an online meeting with a representative of the SBU Center for International Cooperation named Ivan. It was expected that his superior intelligence officer named Martin would also attend.

Ivan, in turn, suggested adding his expert, SBU Major Mikhail Marchenko, to the correspondence.

In the correspondence, Marchenko is described as an experienced specialist whose main areas of expertise include hybrid threats, espionage, sabotage, and information operations in modern conflicts.

TASS reports that on July 4, Russian air defense repelled an attack by Ukrainian drones on an oil terminal in the Kirovsky district of St. Petersburg, that drone debris fell near the port of Vysotsk in the Leningrad region, that technical disruptions were resolved, and that no one was injured.