<p>A televised phone-in with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday was targeted by "powerful" cyberattacks, the state-run Rossiya 24 network which broadcast the event said.</p>.<p>Shown on Kremlin-friendly media, the annual session with Putin sees the president field in real time queries submitted by Russians throughout the country.</p>.<p>This year's phone-in on Wednesday, which lasted nearly four hours, repeatedly faced connection problems, particularly during calls from remote regions.</p>.<p>"Our digital systems are right now facing attacks, powerful DDoS attacks," a Rossiya-24 presenter told Putin, after a caller from the Kuzbass region in southwestern Siberia experienced connection issues.</p>.<p>"Are you joking? Seriously?" Putin responded.</p>.<p>"Turns out we have hackers in Kuzbass," he quipped.</p>.<p>Russia's largest telecommunications provider, Rostelecom, confirmed the attacks to news agencies, saying that measures were being taken to "block these illegitimate activities".</p>.<p>Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA Novosti news agency that the origin of the attacks was unclear.</p>.<p>Cybersecurity was one of the main topics on the agenda at Putin's summit with US President Joe Biden earlier in June.</p>.<p>Biden's administration in April slapped sanctions on Moscow over the SolarWinds cyberattack that targeted federal organisations and more than 100 US companies.</p>.<p>The United States has also accused Russia of meddling in its elections, saying the interference was carried out by either Russian security services or Kremlin-linked hackers.</p>.<p>The Kremlin has repeatedly denied these allegations.</p>
<p>A televised phone-in with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday was targeted by "powerful" cyberattacks, the state-run Rossiya 24 network which broadcast the event said.</p>.<p>Shown on Kremlin-friendly media, the annual session with Putin sees the president field in real time queries submitted by Russians throughout the country.</p>.<p>This year's phone-in on Wednesday, which lasted nearly four hours, repeatedly faced connection problems, particularly during calls from remote regions.</p>.<p>"Our digital systems are right now facing attacks, powerful DDoS attacks," a Rossiya-24 presenter told Putin, after a caller from the Kuzbass region in southwestern Siberia experienced connection issues.</p>.<p>"Are you joking? Seriously?" Putin responded.</p>.<p>"Turns out we have hackers in Kuzbass," he quipped.</p>.<p>Russia's largest telecommunications provider, Rostelecom, confirmed the attacks to news agencies, saying that measures were being taken to "block these illegitimate activities".</p>.<p>Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA Novosti news agency that the origin of the attacks was unclear.</p>.<p>Cybersecurity was one of the main topics on the agenda at Putin's summit with US President Joe Biden earlier in June.</p>.<p>Biden's administration in April slapped sanctions on Moscow over the SolarWinds cyberattack that targeted federal organisations and more than 100 US companies.</p>.<p>The United States has also accused Russia of meddling in its elections, saying the interference was carried out by either Russian security services or Kremlin-linked hackers.</p>.<p>The Kremlin has repeatedly denied these allegations.</p>