Pro-Russian group claims cyber attack on German government websites

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses a news conference after talks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Chancellery in Berlin, November 11, 2014. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

BERLIN (Reuters) - German government websites, including Chancellor Angela Merkel's page, were hacked on Wednesday in an attack claimed by a group demanding Berlin end support for the Ukrainian government, shortly before their leaders were to meet.

Authorities took counter-measures but failed to halt the attack, which left the sites periodically inaccessible from 10 a.m. (0900 GMT), her spokesman Steffen Seibert said. Screens gave internet users error messages instead.