Massive cyberattack on Ukrainian government leaves many sites offline

A massive overnight cyberattack on government websites in Ukraine has left large parts of the internet inaccessible, the Ministry of Education in Kiev announced on Facebook on Friday.

A statement described the incident as a "worldwide attack." The main Ukrainian government website, the emergency services website and the websites of the Foreign Ministry and the Energy Ministry were all inaccessible on Friday.

A police unit specializing in cyberattacks has begun an investigation, the Energy Minsitry announced. It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the attack.

Ukrainian media reported that, following the attack, computer screens at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs displayed a notice in Russian, Polish and Ukrainian saying: "All data on the computer has been destroyed, it is impossible to restore it."

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the attacks deserved "the greatest condemnation" and that EU ambassadors would meet on Friday to discuss how to offer Ukraine technical assistance.

Asked who was behind the attacks, Borrell said that it was not easy to say with any certainty.

"You can't just point your finger at someone because I don't have the proof, but we can imagine," he told reporters at an EU foreign ministers meeting in France.