“Unpatchable” hardware flaw. Nation-state conflict in cyberspace. Threat actor Aoqin Dragon has been operating since 2013.

Dateline

Ukraine at D+106: Cyber ops and escalation. (The CyberWire) An artillery war in the Donbas. Russia warns that Western, especially US, “aggression and encouragement of banditry” in cyberspace risks escalation into full combat, and that Washington can be sure that Moscow will retaliate. Beijing issues a similar warning, with special mention of the risks small countries assume when they accept American cybersecurity aid. Canada is on “high alert” for Russian cyberattacks. And Mr. Putin identifies with Tsar Peter the Great.

Live updates | Ukraine: Russia still attacking eastern city (AP NEWS) The Ukrainian army says Kyiv’s forces continue to frustrate Russian attempts to take the fiercely contested eastern city of Sievierodonetsk. “The occupiers, with the help of motorized rifle units and artillery, conducted assault operations in the city of Sievierodonetsk.

‘Dead Cities’ Become the Flashpoint for the Fierce War in the East (New York Times) President Volodymyr Zelensky has framed the battle in Sievierodonetsk as pivotal to the broader fight for the Donbas. Amid relentless Russian attacks, Ukraine holds on and waits for Western weapons.

Key city’s fate in balance as fighting rages in east Ukraine (AP NEWS) Russian forces pounded an eastern Ukrainian city Thursday and the two sides waged pitched street battles that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said could determine the fate of the critical Donbas region.

UK says Mariupol at risk of cholera outbreak (Reuters) Ukraine’s southern city of Mariupol is at risk of a major cholera outbreak as medical services are likely already near collapse, Britain’s defence ministry said on Friday.

We’re almost out of ammunition and relying on western arms, says Ukraine (the Guardian) Exclusive: Deputy head of military intelligence says it’s an artillery war now and ‘everything depends on what the west gives us’

Live Updates: Ukraine’s Pleas Grow Louder as Soldiers Are Outgunned and Putin Talks of Empire (New York Times) As Ukrainian soldiers try to hold on in the besieged city of Sievierodonetsk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country must not be forced to stay in a “gray zone” and that it needed more weapons…