The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southern Ukraine, near the town of Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling Europe's largest nuclear power plant, stoking international fears of a catastrophe on the continent. AP
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southern Ukraine, near the town of Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling Europe's largest nuclear power plant, stoking international fears of a catastrophe on the continent. AP
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southern Ukraine, near the town of Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling Europe's largest nuclear power plant, stoking international fears of a catastrophe on the continent. AP
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southern Ukraine, near the town of Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. Russia and Ukraine ha

Ukraine nuclear operator's website hit by cyber attack


Soraya Ebrahimi
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Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear operator, reported what it called an unprecedented cyber attack on its website on Tuesday, but said its operations had not been disrupted.

"On August 16, 2022, the most powerful cyber attack since the start of the Russian invasion occurred against Energoatom's website," the operator said on Telegram.

It "was attacked from Russian territory".

The Russian "popular cyber army" group used more than seven million internet bots to attack the website for three hours, Energoatom said.

But the assault "did not have a considerable impact on the work of the Energoatom website".

A Telegram channel called "popular cyber army" in Russian around midday called on its followers to attack the Ukrainian nuclear operator's website.

But by Tuesday evening it announced a change in plans, redirecting supporters to a new target — the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, the website of which was sluggish.

Ukraine crisis latest - in pictures

The attack comes as tension flares over the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the south of the country, which Russian forces occupied in March, shortly after invading its pro-EU neighbour.

Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the installation, which is the largest in Europe, sparking fears of a nuclear accident.

Ukraine counted on four nuclear power stations to supply it with about half of its electricity supply before Russia's invasion on February 24.

Russian troops seize Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine - video

Ukraine was the site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, when the Chernobyl power station's reactor number four exploded.

The power station's three other reactors were successively closed down, with the latest shutting off in 2000.

Russian troops on the first day of the invasion seized the Chernobyl plant, occupying it and a highly radioactive exclusion zone around the complex for weeks.

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Who is Allegra Stratton?

 

  • Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
  • Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
  • In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
  • The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
  • Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
  • She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
  • Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Updated: August 17, 2022, 4:57 AM`