President Putin admits Russian hackers attacked US election?

The Russian president has suggested that "patriotic Russian citizens" may have been involved in cyber attacks targeting the 2016 US presidential election.

Mr. Putin said that Russian hackers could target people who speak ill of Russia - Photo: AFP

BBC on June 1 quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying that patriotic Russian citizens may have participated in "the fight against those who spoke ill of Russia".

The Russian leader said that just as artists can stand all day to paint a picture, hackers can also spend the same amount of time attacking their enemies.

Mr Putin also acknowledged that it was possible that someone had carried out a series of such cyber attacks and made it appear to originate from Russia.

However, Mr. Putin once again affirmed that the Moscow government had nothing to do with last year's US election.

The Russian president insisted that this type of activity "never" happens at the government level and also stressed that he was confident that the hacker group could not influence the decisions of American voters.

Previously, many US politicians believed that Russia may have been involved in efforts to interfere in last year's US presidential election.

In March, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that it was investigating allegations of Russian interference in the US election.

The investigation is looking into possible links between the Russian government and Donald Trump's campaign. The Trump administration has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia.

According to Tuoi Tre