Ukrainian Interior Ministry Opens Investigation Into Claims of Russia Hacking Burisma - Report

On Tuesday, Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries said that the Dems would look into media reports alleging that Russian military hackers conducted cyberattacks against Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has opened an investigation into reports alleging that Russian military hackers conducted cyberattacks against energy company Burisma, Reuters said on Thursday.

"It is noted that the hacker attack most likely took place in cooperation with the Russian special services", Artyom Minyailo, an official with the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, said at a briefing.

The New York Times earlier reported that the hacking started in November when the House of Representatives was investigating Trump for alleged attempts to withhold security assistance to Ukraine as leverage on the country’s authorities to probe possible corruption by Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Fuss Around Energy Company Burisma

Burisma landed in the centre of attention in the second half of 2019 during the impeachment process of US President Donald Trump.

The impeachment process was launched after an anonymous whistleblower filed a complaint against Trump, saying that the US president pressured Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to investigate the Bidens over allegations of a potential conflict of interest, threatening to withhold security assistance to Ukraine.

In 2014, Hunter Biden served on the board of directors of Burisma Holdings Group, while his father Joe Biden, was appointed to lead the Obama administration’s policy on Ukraine.

In 2016, Joe Biden demanded Kiev dismiss the country’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, amid the latter's probe into Burisma's alleged illegal activities, threatening to withhold more than one billion dollars in US aid to the Ukrainian government unless they complied.