Ukraine’s air raid app sends false alerts after hack; Russia reports cyberattack on its own

Ukraine’s national air raid alert app sent false warnings to users on Sunday evening, and Kyiv’s authorities pointed the finger at Russia. Hours later, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said its own mobile application had been struck by a “massive cyberattack”, according to Fox News, Al Jazeera and the BBC.

What the app told users

The BBC reported that the first alerts arrived at about 22:47 and appeared to put the whole country under a red-level air raid warning. Messages then declared a radiation threat in Kyiv, a chemical attack threat and street fighting in the capital, each urging residents to stay indoors. One message, in Russian, announced a nuclear alert across Ukraine and said an Oreshnik missile was flying, the BBC said. Fox News added that the public alert map showed Kyiv and other areas under a nuclear warning, and that street loudspeakers broadcast a recorded precautionary message.

The BBC said that all-clear messages followed at 23:53. Ivano-Frankivsk’s governor said the region had been shown under a red alert from 22:50 to 23:57 even though everything was calm. In the Lviv region, a radiation signal was played over loudspeakers, according to the Ukrainian intelligence agency cited by the BBC.

Kyiv’s response

The Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram that the app appeared to have been subjected to enemy influence and that there was no radiation threat. SPRAVDI, the Center for Strategic Communications, blamed Russia, Al Jazeera reported, though Fox News noted that no group had publicly claimed responsibility. Al Jazeera said a separate app for the capital kept working normally.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation, which supports the app, took it offline for maintenance and urged residents to switch on emergency notifications on their phones, the BBC reported. The head of the Vinnytsia region warned people not to click a link in one of the messages, which could be a phishing attempt.

Moscow reports its own attack

Early on Monday the Russian ministry said on Telegram that attackers had used its app to send false information to the public. The BBC said neither the ministry nor state media gave further details. Ukrainian outlet UNN reported that fake alerts of a nuclear threat had been sent inside Russia. The partisan group Atesh, which operates in Russian-held territory, posted about the hack with laughing emojis and shared a screenshot telling users to stock up on provisions for three weeks. The BBC said it could not verify that image.

Timing with the Kherson truce

The alerts came minutes before a local ceasefire in the Kherson region expired at 23:00 on Sunday. The BBC said the pause began last Tuesday and allowed civilians to leave the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, while fighting went on elsewhere. Al Jazeera described it as the longest truce of the war so far.

It remains unclear who carried out either intrusion. Ukraine attributes its incident to Russia, and neither side has offered technical evidence in the reports. Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation advised the public to rely on sirens and official sources while the app is unreliable.