Ukraine's air raid alert application was apparently hacked on Sunday, triggering a series of false warnings, including a radiation threat in the capital Kyiv, prompting the country's authorities to urge residents to remain calm and rely on official sources for information. Russia later reported a "massive cyberattack" on its own emergency app, resulting in the circulation of false information about an alleged threat to the public.
The Ukrainian Air Force alerted users to the suspected interference through a message on Telegram, saying: "The Air Alarm application has probably been subjected to hostile interference. There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel."
The Ukrainian Central Intelligence Agency also confirmed a failure in the application and advised people to consult alternative sources to verify information about potential air strikes, BBC reported.
The alerts, issued in Ukrainian, began at around 10.47 pm local time (8.47 pm GMT), with red-level air raid warnings apparently sent across the country. Additional notifications in Kyiv reported a radiation threat, followed by warnings of a nuclear alert, a chemical attack and street fighting, the BBC report said.
False Radiation, Nuclear And Chemical Threat Alerts
The first notification received by users in Kyiv read: "Radiation threat. Radiation threat declared in Kyiv."
A minute later, a message in Russian appeared, stating: "Hi! There will be a nuclear alert across Ukraine. Don't worry, it's Oreshnik flying".
At 10.49 pm, another alert warned of a possible chemical attack in Kyiv, telling residents not to go outside. A separate notification at the same time claimed street fighting was taking place in the capital and issued a similar warning.
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A series of all-clear messages followed at 11.53 pm, with individual notifications declaring each of the previously reported threats over.
In a separate Telegram post, the Ukrainian Central Intelligence Agency said the radiation hazard signal had also been broadcast through loudspeaker systems in the Lviv region. It stressed that there was no radiation threat.
Regional officials also sought to reassure residents. Svitlana Onyshchuk, governor of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, said the situation in the region was calm after the application issued a red-level air raid alert there between 10.50 pm and 11.57 pm, BBC reported.
Vinnytsia regional head Natalya Zabolotna said the application had been targeted in a cyberattack. She also cautioned people against clicking on links in the messages, warning that they could be phishing attempts.
Ukraine Advises Residents To Rely On Official Alerts
Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, which supports the Air Alert application, said the service had apparently been compromised and was temporarily disabled for maintenance.
The ministry urged residents to activate emergency notifications on their smartphones to continue receiving state-issued distress signals.
The country's Centre for Countering Disinformation also advised people to pay attention to air raid sirens, enable smartphone notifications and rely only on official information sources if the application stopped working.
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Russia Also Reports Cyberattack On Emergency App
A few hours after the false alerts were reported in Ukraine, Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said its own application had been hit by what it described as "a massive cyberattack," BBC reported.
The ministry said the attack had resulted in "fake information to the public", but did not provide further details. Russian state media also offered no additional information.
Ukrainian news outlet UNN reported that the breach had sent false warnings of a nuclear threat to users in Russia.
Atesh, a Ukrainian partisan group operating in Russian-held territory, also claimed on Telegram that the Russian application had been hacked. It shared a screenshot of a purported emergency alert instructing users to stock up on provisions for three weeks and seek shelter in basements. The screenshot, which has not been independently verified, also contained obscene language.
The incidents took place shortly before a localised ceasefire in Ukraine's front-line Kherson region was due to end at 11 pm on Sunday. The arrangement, which began last Tuesday, was intended to allow civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky.
Fighting had continued in other parts of Ukraine during the ceasefire period.