Ukraine’s defenses have also been bolstered by covering fire in the cyberwarfare field by pro-Ukraine hacktivists—here, he’s more willing to use the term. “I’m talking not only about the Ukrainian IT Army,”
a Telegram group set up at the start of the invasion that had at its peak
more than 300,000 subscribers, “but other hacktivists worldwide that joined the effort at the beginning of the invasion.” Shchyhol says that those hacktivists have provided much-needed help—even if there’s little proof that the hacktivist army made any meaningful impact. Indeed,
one recent academic analysis compared their work to breaking into a disused shopping center in a small city and spray-painting “Putin sux” on the walls.
“Being a military person, I believe anything that weakens our enemy is good for us,” he says. But Shchyhol is keen to make it clear that’s his personal opinion—wanting to avoid any suggestion of collusion or organization by the Ukrainian state. “They are a self-organized community, operating by setting their own goals,” he says. “There is no coordination of their activities coming from the government of Ukraine, and no sponsoring of their activities. We, as the government of Ukraine, are not giving them any direct order to target, for instance, infrastructure.” Even if they were to do so, Shchyhol says, Russia and its infrastructure would be lawful targets because of “all the crimes they perpetrated here.”
Olet oikeassa. Vanhat kokardin jämät näkyvät.
