Ukraine's POW Coordination Headquarters restores services after cyberattack

Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on Jan. 29 that it had restored all services following yesterday's DDoS attack.

The attack came amid an escalating cyberwar between Russia and Ukraine, with numerous large-scale cyberattacks reported by both sides.

"After a proper check by IT specialists, all services of the Coordination Headquarters, which were subjected to a DDoS attack yesterday, are working normally and are available online," the headquarters said on its Telegram channel.

The department responsible for monitoring the treatment of prisoners of war (POW) was hacked mere days after the crash of the Russian Il-76 plane in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24, which Moscow claims resulted in the death of 65 Ukrainian POWs.

Russia also alleges that Ukrainian forces shot down the plane.

Ukraine has not confirmed these claims and called for an international investigation, which Russia refuses. Ukrainian officials pointed out the lack of concrete evidence confirming the presence of a large number of Ukrainian POWs at the crash site.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed that Moscow was meant to return 65 POWs during a planned exchange on Jan. 24.

The headquarters also said it remains unclear whether the POWs in question were actually present at the crash site and warned against possible information operations by Russia.

Read also: Ukrainian officials meet relatives of POWs who Russia claims were in crashed Il-76, say no evidence to confirm that

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