France accused Russia of impersonating its foreign ministry's website saying that Moscow spoofed popular French websites and newspapers as well. The French agency responsible for fighting foreign digital interference, VIGINUM, said it has monitored the alleged operation since soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
France said it was not the only European country to be targeted. Even though Russia's embassy in France did not immediately comment on the allegations, they were detailed in a report released today, according to news agency Associated Press.
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In a strongly-worded statement, VIGINUM said, “France condemns these actions, which are unworthy of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. No attempt at manipulation will distract France from its support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression.”
VIGINUM said it had identified 355 domain names pretending to be European media outlets, such as French daily newspapers Le Monde and Le Figaro and the content spread on the fake sites criticised the Ukrainian armed forces and amplified criticism of sanctions against Russia.
This comes as overnight Russian missile attacks killed three people in Odesa and three in Donetsk, Ukrainian officials said. The three killed in Odesa were in a retail chain warehouse that was set ablaze during an attack that damaged a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, food establishments and shops, Ukraine's military said.
{{/usCountry}}This comes as overnight Russian missile attacks killed three people in Odesa and three in Donetsk, Ukrainian officials said. The three killed in Odesa were in a retail chain warehouse that was set ablaze during an attack that damaged a business centre, an educational institution, a residential complex, food establishments and shops, Ukraine's military said.
{{/usCountry}}Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said two people had been killed in the city of Kramatorsk and one in Kostiantynivka.
"The missiles ... hit private houses in the cities and caused significant damage: in Kramatorsk, at least 5 private houses were destroyed and about two dozen damaged, in Kostiantynivka, two were destroyed and 55 damaged," he said.