Disinformation

NATO and the European Union led strong condemnation after Government websites of various Ukrainian ministries were hacked on Thursday evening (13 January). The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported this on Friday. According to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, it is too soon to draw conclusions about who could have been behind the attacks. However it is widely suspected that Russia was behind the attacks.

The European Union and its Member States strongly denounced malicious cyber activities against it originating in Russia. "We urge the Russian Federation to adhere to the norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace", the EU and its member states said in a statement on Friday,

China and Iran have signed a deal on comprehensive co-operation for the next 25 years. The details of the agreement have not been revealed but the Russian newspaper Izvestya says it is known that it will cover not only such areas as economy and culture, but also sensitive fields such as defense and intelligence.

In this op-ed Will Murray warns us not to fall for PR traps or stunts but to be discerning readers, especially in this time of crisis.