Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said a series of cyberattacks on Wednesday targeting Italian companies and public institutions, including the websites of the defence ministry and police, were “a threat, a warning” from Russia after prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to Ukraine this week.
The attacks, which caused limited damage due to strong cyber defence systems being in place, were claimed by the Russian group, NoName057, which wrote on Telegram that Italy was “Russiaphobic”, while referring to the government’s approval of a 6th military aid package for war-torn Ukraine.
Tajani made the comments to reporters on the sidelines of the UN’s emergency special session marking one year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in New York.
Meloni met Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Tuesday in what was her first visit to the country since she came to power in October.
Meloni reiterated Italy’s “unwavering” support for Ukraine while pledging that the country would continue to give “military, financial and civil support”.
“Those who support Ukraine, even militarily, are those who work for peace,” she said.
Various Italian companies’ and institutions’ sites were targeted by hackers from the pro-Russian collective NoName057, who claimed the action on their Telegram profiles.
Via ANSA
