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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Hacker attack no threat to elections in self-proclaimed Luhansk republic — CEC

The hackers removed all the documents published on the site and wrote "Elections Canceled" next to "Ukraine's Cyber Forces" logo but this will not affect the vote, Central Election Commission says

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

LUHANSK, October 31. /TASS/. The attack launched by hackers on the website of the Central Election Commission of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) will not affect the Nov. 2 polls, the CEC head said on Friday.

The website came under cyber attack early on Friday, just days before the republic is set to elect its parliament and head along with another self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine.

Following the attack, the website read: “Elections Canceled” next to the logotype: "Ukraine’s Cyber Forces.”

“As far as I understood, they have removed all the documents published on the website. But I think this will not affect the elections,” Sergey Kozyakov told TASS.

The official said some LPR residents had cast their votes for the candidates on the website but they will not be considered during the vote count after the elections this Sunday.

“We focus on the general vote. People mainly will go to ballot stations, and that’s why the data placed on the website could not affect the voter turnout,” Kozyakov explained.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said holding of elections in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions gives a chance to switch over the situation to constructive dialogue, and Russia will contribute to that.

The stance of the leaders of self-defense forces of the two republics on the November 2 elections is justified and stands fully in line with the accords reached at the meetings of the Contact Group for Ukraine in Minsk in September, the ministry said.

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