Angela Merkel ‘hacked’: German government pages taken down as part of Ukraine protest

CyberBerkut group said they were trying to pressure Germany to stop supporting Kiev government

German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a meeting of the Bundestag, Germany's federal parliament (GETTY IMAGES)

A pro-Russia hacker group has apparently taken down websites including the page belonging to Angela Merkel as part of a protest against the country’s support of the Ukrainian government.

The attack had left the sites periodically inaccessible since this morning, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said. Counter measures were taken against the attack.

In a statement on its website, a group calling itself CyberBerkut took responsibility.

'Berkut' is a reference to the riot squads used by the government of Ukraine's former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted during violent protests last February.

"CyberBerkut has blocked German Chancellor and the Bundestag's (lower parliamentary house) websites," it said on http://www.cyber-berkut.org.

The claim could not be independently verified.

"We appeal (to) all people and (the) government of Germany to stop financial and political support of criminal regime in Kiev, which unleashed a bloody civil war," it said.

"Our service provider's data centre is under a severe attack that has apparently been caused by a variety of external systems," Seibert told a news conference when asked if Ukrainian hackers were responsible.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk is due to meet with German President Joachim Gauck in Berlin later on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Reuters