Ukraine has just delivered a powerful strike against Russia in Crimea, marking a major moment in the ongoing conflict. A drone attack recently hit a Russian military base on the peninsula — a key supply hub for Putin’s forces operating in southern Ukraine. This is just the latest in a series of Ukrainian efforts to weaken Russia’s grip on the region.
Over the past months, Ukraine has been relentlessly targeting Crimea using a mix of drones and missiles. These attacks have destroyed air defense systems, damaged the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and hit key military bases and storage sites. Ukraine has also tried multiple times to destroy the Kerch Bridge, which connects Crimea to mainland Russia and is critical for moving supplies and troops.
Now, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as the HUR, has pulled off something even more dramatic: a massive cyber attack. Over several days, Ukrainian cyber experts managed to gain access to the internal networks of the Russian-installed government in Crimea. They downloaded a staggering 100 terabytes of data — including highly classified documents.
According to a source from HUR, the stolen files contain sensitive information about Russian military facilities and logistics routes. In other words, this data could give Ukraine a huge advantage in future operations. “There’s so much data extracted that we’re about to learn a lot of explosive details about the operations and crimes of Russian occupiers in Ukrainian Crimea,” the HUR source said.
To make things worse for the Russians, after copying all the important data, Ukrainian cyber experts completely wiped the servers of government agencies across Crimea. This left ministries, district authorities, and other occupation offices unable to function properly, with their IT teams now scrambling to restore services.
Interestingly, the Ukrainians even thanked Anton Lyaskovsky, the deputy health minister of the Russian-backed government in Crimea, suggesting he may have helped in the operation — either knowingly or not.
This cyber strike is part of a larger pattern. Ukraine has been ramping up its cyber warfare efforts, targeting Russian infrastructure and tech suppliers. Earlier in July, HUR went after Gaskar Integration, a major drone manufacturer for the Kremlin. They also hacked Orion Telecom, one of Siberia’s largest internet providers, and attacked Russian Railways, causing widespread travel disruptions.
Ukraine’s strategy is clear: combine physical attacks with digital ones to cripple Russia’s war machine from the inside out. As the war drags on, these hybrid tactics are becoming a critical part of Ukraine’s resistance — and may shape the next phase of the conflict.
