In October 2016, Ukrainian hacker group CyberHunta leaked over a gigabyte of emails and other documents alleged to belong to Russian political operative and senior Kremlin official Vladislav Surkov.[1] Known as Russia's "grey cardinal", Surkov served as a political adviser to President Vladimir Putin in the conflict in eastern Ukraine and is the architect of Russia's ideology of sovereign democracy.[1][2]
The document leak included over 2,300 emails from Surkov's inbox.[3] The emails illustrate Russian plans to politically upset Ukraine and the coordination of affairs with major opposition leaders in separatist east Ukraine.[4][2] The release included a document sent to Surkov by Denis Pushilin, former Chairman of the People's Council of the Donetsk People's Republic, listing casualties during 2014.[3] It also included a 22-page outline of "a plan to support nationalist and separatist politicians and to encourage early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, all to undermine the government in [Kyiv]."[5]
The Kremlin has said that the leaked documents are fake.[6]
- ^ a b Windrem, Robert (27 October 2016). "Payback? Russia gets hacked, revealing top Putin aide's secrets". NBC News. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ a b Hosaka, sanshiro (2019). "Welcome to Surkov's Theater: Russian Political Technology in the Donbas war". Nationalities Papers. 47 (5). cambridge: 750–773. doi:10.1017/nps.2019.70. S2CID 214289953. Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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FPwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Walker, Shaun (26 October 2016). "Kremlin puppet master's leaked emails are price of return to political frontline". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.