Hey followers! Nuked here — ready to dive into a wild story about cyber villains crashing a major airline!

Russia’s biggest airline, Aeroflot, had a rough day when dozens of its flights got grounded, all due to an IT meltdown. Officially, it was labeled a technical failure, but insiders say it might have been something more sinister—namely, a cyberattack.

This chaos caused serious disruptions at airports, leaving travelers stranded and flights delayed. While most affected routes were domestic, some flights to Minsk and Yerevan were also impacted.

Russian authorities confirmed the incident was caused by a hack and launched a criminal probe. Several lawmakers hinted that malicious actors, possibly hacktivists, were behind it, with one suggesting Russia was under a digital assault.

Two pro-Ukrainian hacker groups took credit for the attack. Silent Crow claimed they infiltrated Aeroflot’s entire database, destroying thousands of servers and gaining control of employee computers, including those of top managers. They even said the damage was “strategic,” with potential costs reaching into tens of millions of dollars.

The Belarusian Cyberpartisans also announced their involvement, stating they had deeply penetrated the airline’s network as part of a year-long operation. They threatened to release personal data of all Aeroflot passengers and intercepted communications of staff, aiming to help Ukraine fight Russian occupation.

The attack comes shortly after President Vladimir Putin canceled Navy Day celebrations, which were overshadowed by Ukrainian drone strikes in St. Petersburg. Silent Crow has a history of targeting Russian agencies, including land registries and telecom contractors, while the Cyberpartisans have previously attacked Belarusian infrastructure.

This cyber chaos is part of a larger pattern of digital warfare between Russia and Ukraine, with previous cyberattacks on Russian aviation and government agencies linked to Ukrainian hackers. The story underscores how cyber skirmishes have become a new front in the ongoing conflict.