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Elon Musk has claimed that a large-scale cyberattack that disrupted his social media platform, X, originated from Ukraine. His statement came after users worldwide faced significant outages throughout Monday.
Massive Cyberattack on X
“Well, we’re not sure exactly what happened,” Musk told Fox Business Network on Monday afternoon. “But there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.”
Earlier in the day, Musk had confirmed that X was being targeted by a “massive cyberattack.” Despite the disruption, he assured users that the platform was back online. The attack affected X’s 600 million active monthly users, many of whom reported issues with accessing the app and website from as early as 5:30 a.m. ET.
Musk suggested that the scale of the attack indicated a “coordinated group” or potentially a foreign nation was responsible. However, he did not provide additional details regarding the nature or source of the attack.
Cyberattack Unfolds Amid Strained U.S.-Ukraine Relations
The cyberattack occurred at a time of increasing diplomatic tensions between Kyiv and Washington. Last month, President Donald Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator,” an assertion that fueled hostility between the two nations. A subsequent Oval Office meeting between Trump and Zelensky reportedly ended in discord, with Vice President J.D. Vance accusing Zelensky of warmongering and ingratitude for U.S. military and financial assistance. The meeting concluded with Zelensky being expelled from the White House and a proposed minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine left unsigned.
Republican officials largely backed Trump’s stance, while the fallout from the meeting sparked backlash in Ukraine. Following these events, Musk publicly criticized Zelensky, accusing him of perpetuating ongoing conflict with Russia.
This is Evil, Says Musk
“Zelensky wants a forever war, a never-ending graft meat grinder. This is evil,” Musk wrote on X at the time. In October, he had called for a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, warning that “we are sleepwalking our way into World War III with one foolish decision after the other.”
On Monday, as X was recovering from the cyberattack, Zelensky was in Saudi Arabia meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials, scheduled for Tuesday, are expected to focus on efforts to end the ongoing war with Russia. The U.S. government has recently shifted its policy on the conflict, scaling back military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine while pursuing direct engagement with Moscow.
Hacker Group Claims Responsibility for Cyberattack
Despite Musk’s assertion that the attack originated from Ukraine, a hacker group named Dark Storm Team took credit for the disruption. The pro-Palestinian hacking collective, known for targeting entities supporting Israel’s military actions in Gaza, has no known ties to Ukraine or its hacktivist groups.
According to cybersecurity firm SpyoSecure, the leader of Dark Storm Team admitted to launching a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack against X. A DDoS attack floods a website with artificial traffic, overwhelming its servers and causing widespread outages.
Many users found themselves unable to log in, while others reported that posts would not load. Those who remained logged in saw error messages such as: “Something went wrong, try reloading.” Data from Downdetector, a website that tracks online outages, showed that at 10 a.m. ET, over 40,000 users had reported issues with X. By 5 p.m. ET, however, reports had dropped to around 1,000, indicating that X’s engineers had regained control over the platform.
Musk’s Starlink Comments Spark Controversy
The cyberattack followed a heated exchange over the weekend regarding Musk’s satellite network, Starlink, and its role in Ukraine’s military operations. Musk claimed in a post on X that “my Starlink system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army. Their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off.”
His remarks were interpreted as a veiled threat by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, who responded on X: “Starlinks for Ukraine are paid for by the Polish Digitization Ministry at the cost of about $50 million per year. The ethics of threatening the victim of aggression apart, if (Starlink) proves to be an unreliable provider we will be forced to look for other suppliers.”
Musk dismissed Sikorski’s comments, responding: “Be quiet, small man.”
Previously, Musk had suggested that Zelensky should be offered amnesty in a neutral country in exchange for a peaceful transition “back to democracy in Ukraine.”
Also Read: Zelensky Arrives In Saudi Arabia As Ukraine, US Prepare For Key Talkshttps://www.newsx.com/world/zelensky-arrives-in-saudi-arabia-as-ukraine-us-prepare-for-key-talks/
