A Hacker plays Ukrainian Anthem on a Russian radio station

After a hacker began playing Ukrainian anthems and anti-war songs, a Russian radio station owned by one of Vladimir Putin’s “favourite oligarchs” was quickly taken off the air.

The Ukrainian military anthem ‘Oh the crimson viburnum in the meadow’ cut off Kommersant FM’s midday news bulletin.
Alisher Usmanov, a 68-year-old Russian billionaire and oligarch, owns the radio station, which is a branch of Russia’s Kommersant national newspaper.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the European Union sanctioned Usmanov by placing an EU-wide travel restriction on him and freezing all of his assets. Similar penalties were imposed by the United States.

The hacking of his radio station is the latest in a spate of Ukrainian attacks on Russian media. According to the Official Journal of the European Union, he is a pro-Kremlin magnate with “especially close relations to Russian President Vladimir Putin” and is one of “Putin’s favorite oligarchs.”

With an estimated net worth of $19.billion (£15.6billion), Usmanov is the fifth richest person in Russia and among the world’s wealthiest 100 individuals. He was a shareholder of English football side Arsenal from 2017 to 2018.

‘We were genuinely hacked,’ Alexey Vorobyov, editor-in-chief of Kommersant FM, said of the radio station coming off the air.

‘Technical experts are now trying to figure out where this attack came from and what they can do with the internet stream.’
‘Russian radio station Kommersant FM has been hacked and is currently playing Ukrainian and anti-war songs,’ wrote BBC reporter Francis Scarr on Twitter at 11:43 a.m. on Wednesday.

‘A patriotic Ukrainian hymn, “Oh, red viburnum in the meadow,” began playing midway through a news bulletin not long ago.’

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor for the Russian television channel Pervyi Kanal (Channel One), ran onto a live state television news broadcast in mid-March with a poster opposing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which read: ‘Stop the war…’ They won’t be able to imprison us all.
Do not be fooled by propaganda! They’re deceiving you here! Russians are opposed to war.’

The reason cited was for her ‘public acts aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces in order to preserve the Russian Federation’s interests and citizens, maintain international peace and security,’ according to the TASS news agency.
The warning ‘the blood of thousands of Ukrainians and hundreds of their children is on your hands’ was shown on Russian television in early May.

It had an effect on online viewers of MTS mobile operator, NTV Plus, Rostelecom, and Wink channels.

The ‘No to War’ message also reminded viewers that ‘TV and the authorities lie,’ as it featured on schedules and programs across the country, including children’s television shows.

The attack occurred as Russians prepared to watch Vladimir Putin preside over the annual Victory Day military parade on Red Square.

Ukrainian hackers also appeared to breach into the website of a Russian government ministry earlier this week, redirecting users to a page with a ‘Glory to Ukraine’ logo.

Last night, the official website of Moscow’s Ministry of Construction, Housing, and Utilities was unavailable while officials worked to resolve the attack.

News agency sponsored by the Kremlin Users’ personal information was kept protected, according to RIA.

It went on to say that the hackers sought a ransom in exchange for not disclosing the users’ personal information. This assertion was not supported by evidence.