Hegseth orders stop to offensive US cyber operations directed against Russia
The defence department has declined to comment. The defence department declined to comment.
The order reportedly came just before Trump got into a heated televised argument with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last Friday. He appeared to echo Moscow’s justification of starting the war, and announced plans to visit his counterpart President Vladimir Putin. In recent UN votes related to the conflict, the US also supported Russia. The BBC’s US-based partner CBS News reported that the halting of US cyber operations against Russia was a result of new instructions from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to US Cyber Command. The Record, a cybersecurity publication that first reported the news, said Hegseth’s order could affect hundreds or thousands of personnel. In a statement released by the Department of Defence, a senior official stated that they could not comment due to operational concerns. However, the official added, “There is no greater concern to Secretary Hegseth in regards to the safety and security of Warfighters, including the cyber domain.” “
National security adviser Mike Waltz denied a policy shift had been discussed but admitted in an interview with CNN that “all sorts of carrots and stick” would be used to bring this war to a close. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said to ABC that he would not bring
if he called them names or was antagonistic. It’s the president’s instincts after years of dealing with deals. “
In a New York Times statement, Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader and senior Democrat, called the move “a critical strategic error”. Schumer said that Trump seemed to be giving Putin a “free pass” as Russia continues its cyberoperations and attacks on critical American infrastructure.
