Vladimir Putin has compared hackers to "artists” whose natural creative and patriotic urges could have compelled them to spontaneously carry out a series of cyber attacks against perceived Kremlin opponents.

Speaking at the St Petersburg Economic Forum on Thursday, Mr Putin reiterated denials that Kremlin engaged in cyber espionage "at the government level."

But he appeared to acknowledge that independent Russian hackers may well have been behind notorious hacks such as that against the Democratic National Convention during last year’s US election campaign.

"Hackers are free people like artists. If artists get up in the morning feeling good, all they do all day is paint. The same goes for hackers," Mr Putin said on Thursday when asked about the allegations.