Britain has made its cyber support public because keeping it secret was no longer deemed necessary, officials said - an indication that the Kremlin was already aware. Security and Defence Editor @haynesdeborah British cyber spies have been playing a key role in defending Ukraine from widespread Russian cyber attacks since the start of the invasion, it has been confirmed. The damage caused by Russian hackers would have been "very significant" without the British assistance, Leo Docherty, a junior foreign office minister, said. He told Sky News the UK has also bolstered its own cyber defences because of "a very significant cyber threat from Russia". "We're already on the frontline… We are aware of the threat. We have raised our own preparations and our own defences," Mr Docherty said. Putin accused of 'death by freezing' plan - Ukraine latest "That's why we've got some deep expertise when it comes to cyber defence and that's why we've been very pleased to share it with our Ukrainian alli