When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Artem knew that he would not 'sit idly by'. He said he was employed by Ukraine's SBU security service before Russia invaded.
The IT Army of Ukraine is a group of volunteer hackers first set up in the wake of Russia's invasion which has since grown. Photo: Genya SAVILOV / AFP
The hacker group was born out of a call 48 hours into Russia's invasion by Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister Mikhailo Fedorov for Kyiv to create an"IT army".But three groups of hackers AFP spoke to said they have strong links with authorities, with some openly carrying out joint operations with Ukraine's intelligence services.
"Civilians engaging in digital warfare is a worrying trend," the International Committee of the Red Cross has said.