a giant Ukrainian flag appears during Vladimir Putin’s visit

Kazakhstan opened an investigation into potential computer hacking on Thursday after a giant screen on the streets of the capital Astana briefly displayed a Ukrainian flag, during a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The image of the blue and yellow flag appeared on a huge screen on a busy Astana street Wednesday evening, according to videos posted on social media.

This happened shortly after the arrival in this Central Asian country of Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago. Giant screens nearby displayed the Russian flag, according to videos published by Kazakh media but the authenticity of which has not been confirmed.

Kazakh police are investigating

The police and the State Technical Service, the public company responsible for the country’s cybersecurity, said they were investigating. The State Technical Service says that “the image of a flag had been briefly shown», refraining from mentioning Ukraine. The attack appears to have been carried out with “foreign IP addresses» but via “proxy servers“, which make it possible to hide this data identifying Internet users’ devices, indicated the same source.

The Kazakh police claimed to be investigating a company which had supplied these LED screens, Keruen Media. She also says she suspects a “possible illegal interference in the operation of company equipment».

Kazakhstan is a military and economic ally of Russia, with which it has more than 7,500 kilometers of common border. But Astana was also critical of Mr Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.