Ukraine says air-alert app hacked, sent false warnings

Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday that its public air-raid alert app had sent out false warnings after an apparent hack. The Centre for Strategic Communications, known as SPRAVDI, blamed Russia for the intrusion in a post on X.

The fake messages were sent on Sunday. They warned of nuclear and chemical threats in and around Kyiv, and of potential street combat in the same areas. One falsely claimed that Russia had deployed its hypersonic Oreshnik missile. According to the Telegraph, a message warning of an impending nuclear attack was posted at 10:48 p.m. local time, which is 8:48 p.m. in the UK. Reuters reported that the false alerts were displayed for a short time.

The Air Force said on Telegram that the app appeared to have been subjected to enemy influence. It also said there was no radiation threat and urged people to stay calm. Kyiv authorities said a separate alert app for the Ukrainian capital was working normally.

Russian authorities said their own emergency app had also been hacked, with fake warnings sent inside Russia, according to the BBC. Russia's Emergencies Ministry said early on Monday that its mobile app had been hit by a massive cyberattack.

The ministry said on Telegram that the cyberattack led to the spread of false information. Al Jazeera reported the Ukrainian accusations and the alerts' content.