Ever since the events of 2014, when Ukraine exiled its corrupt, pro-Russian government and Russia annexed Crimea, the relationship between the two countries are tense. To most, the fundamentals are obvious: Ukraine is taking a pro-Western approach (by working on joining the EU) and Russia is very much against it and it makes sense. After all, despite the Cold War being long over, there is still a stand-off between the West and Russia. Ukraine longing to join the West would mean a significant loss for Russia.

As a result, a big part of the struggle between Ukraine and Russia is taking place online, rather than on battlefields or in diplomatic meetings. More specifically, it has take a form of cyber attacks that Russia is now infamous for. While the impacts of cyber attacks by Russian hackers may not be too clear, it is not the case in Ukraine. Such cyber attacks have been responsible for government website and even electricity outages in Ukraine. While this may not sound like drastic damages, the implications of these attacks are significant.

They are significant because Ukraine is a vulnerable country, trying to establish its new government and more importantly, its  independent national identity. If Ukraine is to do so, it cannot remain vulnerable to cyber attacks simply because it undermines its position as a country. We have seen that cyber attacks caused major debates about the democratic processes in the United States, one of the most powerful country in the world. This alone shows that cyber attacks could be a powerful tool to disrupt governments and economies and the sooner Ukraine starts prioritizing cyber attacks as a threat, the sooner it will be able to achieve its national goals.