Vox Populi with Anastasia Yarova: Do you think that the murder of a top intelligence officer in Kyiv and the cyberattack that both took place on June 27 are connected?

Volodymyr Kanivets
IT specialist
“I think these two events are related in the context of the ongoing war with Russia, which all of these threats come from. Yet, no one can be decisively accused until we have it all figured out. The logic tells me that they will not give us peace and this is not the last threat to the country.”

Yulia Ostroushko
photographer
“It’s hard to tell as everything is related in some way. But I think that the same people stand behind the (intelligence officer Maksym) Shapovalov’s murder and the cyberattack.”

Halyna Boiko
student
“It seems that there might be some connection, but it is hard to tell if it was another country’s fault, or our country’s. In an information war, it is difficult to recognize the truth. The major question for me is whether someone in Ukraine is playing on the (enemy’s) side.”

Anatolii Basarab
retiree
“The government and banks say that they have been greatly affected by the cyberattack, but I think there wasn’t so much of an actual threat, but rather a panic wave to depress and scare the people. I think it was a great lie of the government. But the murder of Maksym Shapoval is another thing. He is not the first officer to be murdered. I do not believe that Kremlin is behind it, I think it is the work of big money.”

Natalia Shcherba­kova
school teacher
“You can find the connection anywhere. The problem is that all of the events in Ukraine are so complicated that almost anything can be interpreted as an inside or outside attack on those who work with the government and protect its interests. Although, a cyberattack is a well-planned thing. Who to blame? Well, ‘innocent until proven guilty.’”