Shortly before the invasion, it is believed that Russian state-sponsored threat actors launched a broad cyber campaign that intended to create disorder and overwhelm Ukrainian defences, targeting government agencies and critical infrastructure. It is also believed that Russia was responsible for a hack on American satellite company Viasat, shortly before Russia physically invaded Ukraine. The effect of the attack was that the Ukrainian military, which relied on Viasat's services for command and control of the country's armed forces, was unable to communicate.