German government hacked by pro-Russian group

BERLIN, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Websites of the German government, including that of Chancellor Angela Merkel, were compromised Wednesday in a hack by a pro-Russian group.

The group CyberBerkut, its name derived from that of police riot squads used by ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, said it opposed financial bailouts for Ukraine by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, and demanded the German government dissolve ties with Ukraine.

Websites of the German Parliament and Merkel's office were sporadically inaccessible, beginning Wednesday morning. "Our service provider's data center is under a severe attack that has apparently been caused by a variety of external systems," said Steffen Seibert, Merkel's spokesman.

The group admitted its involvement on its own website, stating, "CyberBerkut has blocked German Chancellor and the Bundestag's (Germany's lowers house of Parliament) websites. We appeal all people and government of Germany to stop financial and political support of criminal regime in Kiev, which unleashed a bloody civil war."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk will meet, later Wednesday in Berlin, with German President Joachim Gauck.