Public warning applications in Ukraine and Russia were hit by cyberattacks around the end of a localised ceasefire, with false messages about nuclear, chemical and missile threats briefly reaching users in Ukraine. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry separately reported that its own application had been subjected to what it described as a “massive cyberattack”.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday evening that its public air-raid alert application had displayed fabricated warnings for Kyiv and other areas. The messages referred to possible radiation and chemical threats, as well as street fighting. One erroneous alert also claimed that Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile had been deployed.
“There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel,” the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Air Force said the application appeared to have been affected by hostile interference. The country’s Centre for Strategic Communications, known as SPRAVDI, blamed Russia for the incident in a post on X. That attribution was not independently established in the information available. Ukraine’s Ministry for Digital Transformation said the affected application was not operating, while other public warning channels and air-raid sirens continued to function.
Russia reports separate disruption
Several hours later, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said its emergency application had also been targeted. According to the ministry, the intrusion resulted in the distribution of false information through a service used to warn people about incoming drone attacks. Moscow did not identify those responsible, and there was no confirmation that the Russian and Ukrainian incidents were connected.
- Ukraine: false alerts concerned radiation, chemical threats, street combat and the reported deployment of an Oreshnik missile.
- Russia: its Emergencies Ministry reported false information appearing on an application used for drone-attack warnings.
- Attribution: Ukraine’s SPRAVDI blamed Russia, while Moscow did not name a perpetrator.
The Ukrainian application is designed to send real-time warnings of Russian air attacks and direct residents towards shelters. The abnormal messages were later removed, and all-clear notifications were sent to some users, according to the account carried by the BBC and The Telegraph.
The incidents occurred as civilians in Ukraine’s south-eastern Kherson region prepared for the end of a local ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow. The truce began on Tuesday and ended on Sunday, and was described in the report as the longest localised pause in fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. The cyber incidents added disruption to public warning systems at a time when the ceasefire was ending, although no direct link between the digital attacks and the truce was established.
