Air Raid Alert Apps Hacked in Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian App Pushed False Nuclear Warnings

Ukraine's air force says the country's public air raid alert app was hacked. For a short time, the app showed false warnings that Kyiv and other areas faced nuclear, chemical and street combat threats. The air force said on Telegram that the app appeared to have been subjected to "enemy influence" and stressed that there was no radiation threat. Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications blamed Russia for the hack.

The app is used across Ukraine to warn people in real time about strikes, and people often have only minutes to find shelter. Ukraine's digital transformation ministry said the app was not operating during the incident, but other alert methods and air raid sirens were still working. The Centre for Countering Disinformation warned that the threat information shown in the app did not match reality.

Separately, Russia's emergencies ministry said its mobile app, designed to warn people of drone attacks and other threats, was hit by a massive cyber attack, according to state news agency TASS. The ministry is working to restore it, and no further details were given. It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were linked. The Ukrainian announcement came minutes after a localised truce in the Kherson region ended.