The Atlantic Alliance and Ukraine strengthened their cyber cooperation on Monday 17 January, by signing a renewed memorandum of understanding to continue collaboration between NATO’s Communications and Information Agency and Kiev on technology-related projects.
This signature comes after a computer attack that affected several Ukrainian government websites on the night of 14-15 January, an attack condemned by NATO and the EU (see EUROPE 12869/2).
According to the Alliance, the renewed agreement will help Ukraine modernise its information and communications technology services, while identifying areas where training may be needed for its personnel. “With NATO’s support, we plan to introduce more modern technologies and information services into the command and control system of the Ukrainian armed forces”, explained the Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the Alliance, Nataliia Galibarenko.
Following the attack attributed by Kiev to Russia, but denied by the Kremlin, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, had also offered the Union’s help. This proposal was reiterated in the joint statement on behalf of the EU27 published the evening of 14 January. “The European Union and its Member States are in contact with Ukraine and stand ready to provide additional, direct, technical assistance to Ukraine to remediate this attack and further support Ukraine against any destabilizing actions, including by further building up its resilience against hybrid and cyber threats”, the statement said (https://bit.ly/3FFYYRr ).
The cyber attack came as EU Foreign Ministers met in Brest to discuss the strengthening of Russia’s military presence around Ukraine. At the meeting, they agreed on ten principles for managing the situation, including coordination with the United States (see EUROPE 12869/2).
In line with these principles, the High Representative of the Union met with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Saturday 15 January. According to a statement from the European External Action Service (EEAS), they “briefed each other on the latest diplomatic engagements regarding Russia’s attempts to redefine security arrangements in Europe”.
Mr Borrell and Mr Blinken reviewed the preparations underway for deterrence measures and a strong international response with massive consequences for Russia in the event of further aggression against Ukraine. “Further Russian aggression against Ukraine will be met with swift, severe, and coordinated consequences”, Mr Blinken warned, according to the State Department statement.
The High Representative and the Secretary of State reiterated, according to the European side, that the EU and the US remain open to dialogue with Russia, but never at the expense of the freedom, sovereignty and independence of the members of the transatlantic community and their partners, nor at the expense of respect for fundamental values and relevant international obligations. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)