Hackers Hijack Ukraine's Air Alert App to Send Fake Nuclear and Chemical Warnings

Late on Sunday, residents of Kyiv received alarming phone notifications warning of a radiation hazard, a chemical threat and street fighting in the capital. The messages came from Air Alert, an app that millions of Ukrainians rely on for warnings about incoming Russian missiles and drones. The threats were fake. Ukraine's Air Force said the officially supported app had "likely been compromised by the enemy" and told people to ignore the messages.

A Recorded Future News reporter received several of the notifications, which looked genuine and even used the app's familiar voice. One message, written in Russian, warned of a possible strike involving the Oreshnik, a ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. It also contained a link to a Telegram channel linked to a previously unknown group calling itself Hitcore Corp, which claimed responsibility. The developers disabled push notifications, suspended the service, and told users not to open links in suspicious notifications. They said the app does not store personal information.

By early Monday, push notifications and basic threat indicators were being restored, though the map display of incoming threats stayed offline. The developers said they were adding security measures. Authorities stressed that the wider emergency warning system was unaffected: the State Emergency Service said the national system was operating normally, and the separate Kyiv Digital app remained functional.