US, UK Send Experts to Ukraine to Counter 'Potential Cyber Attack' from Russia

US and British media reported that Washington and London sent cybersecurity experts to Ukraine to counter a "potential cyber-attack" from Russia.

The New York Times reported that US intelligence believes the Kremlin may order a cyberattack on Ukraine to "undermine the reputation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."

The Times, a UK daily wide circulation newspaper, reported on Tuesday that London had also sent experts to protect Ukraine from cyberattacks on its energy systems, banking system, and other critical infrastructure.

The Times quoted a member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee as saying that the "first attacks" by Russia on Ukraine would be in the cyber domain.

US and British officials have not revealed how many experts have been sent to Ukraine, but a British government spokeswoman stressed that the move was "purely defensive."

It is noteworthy that Russia has repeatedly rejected Western and Ukrainian accusations of alleged preparations for the attack on Ukraine, and denied having any such plans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed that the United States’ arming Ukraine and urging it to confront Russia creates serious threats to Russia's national security.

In a speech during an expanded meeting of the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow on Tuesday, Putin said: “What the United States of America (USA) is doing now on Ukrainian territory, located not thousands of kilometers from our borders, but on our doorstep. They must understand that we have no place for further retreat."

He continued: "The United States does not have hypersonic weapons yet, but we know when they will have them. This is something that cannot be hidden. And (one day) they will hand them over to Ukraine. This does not mean that they will use them tomorrow because we have Tsirkon, not theirs."