Ukraine and Russia both reported cyberattacks on their emergency-alert mobile apps that briefly pushed false warnings to the public, including bogus nuclear and chemical threats. The incidents came late Sunday into Monday as a limited local ceasefire elsewhere on the front was ending.

Ukraine’s widely used air-raid alert app briefly showed Kyiv and other areas under nuclear and chemical alerts and claimed Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik missile was in play. The air force said on Telegram the app appeared to have been subject to “enemy influence,” stressing there was no radiation threat and urging people to stay calm.

App developers said unauthorised parties interfered with the service, forcing a temporary suspension before a gradual restoration and extra hardening. Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation told users to rely on official social channels and physical sirens while the breach was handled.

Some of the fake Ukrainian messages mixed English with spelling errors and Russian–Ukrainian wording; one Russian-language note told users not to worry because “Oreshnik is incoming.” A Telegram channel linked to a group calling itself Hitcore claimed the Ukrainian breach; that claim was not independently verified.

Hours later, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said its own warning app had suffered a “massive cyberattack” that let attackers send false information. Fake alerts reportedly reached users across dozens of regions, including warnings about nuclear warheads; Moscow said the broader public-alert system via SMS, broadcast and sirens still worked and that the app was only a supplementary channel.

It was unclear whether the two attacks were linked or who ultimately directed them. Language in several hoax messages pointed more toward hacktivist-style actors than polished state messaging, though both governments regularly accuse each other of cyber operations.

Source: Ukraine and Russia say emergency alert apps hit by cyberattacks as false warnings issued (The Irish Times)