Ukraine Alert App Sends False Nuclear Warnings
Ukraine’s Air Force says its public air raid alert app was apparently hacked late on Sunday, briefly sending users false warnings of a radiation threat in Kyiv, a chemical attack and street fighting. “There is no radiation threat,” the Air Force said.
The app showed Kyiv and other areas under a nuclear alert for a short time before the abnormality disappeared. The first alert, in Ukrainian, arrived at about 22:47 local time (20:47 GMT) and read: “Radiation threat declared in Kyiv.” A minute later a message in Russian said there would be a nuclear alert across Ukraine and added: “Don’t worry, it’s Oreshnik flying,” an apparent reference to the Russian missile of that name. A third alert, in Ukrainian, warned of a chemical attack on Kyiv and told residents not to go outside, and a fourth reported street fighting in the capital. A series of all-clear messages followed, each cancelling one of the earlier alerts. The app also showed alerts about missile strikes across Ukraine.
The Air Force said on Telegram that the app had probably been subjected to hostile interference and urged people to stay calm and follow its channel for updates. The Reuters report quotes it as saying the app “appears to have been subjected to enemy influence.” The statements do not name a culprit or give evidence. A Ukrainian intelligence agency said there had been a failure in the app and urged people to rely on other sources on the threat of air strikes. It said the radiation hazard signal had also been played on loudspeakers in the Lviv region, where there was no radiation threat, and advised the public to turn on phone notifications, listen for sirens and read only official sources.
The Kyiv Independent reported that alerts also sounded on streets across the country, including in the western region of Zakarpattia. Vinnytsia governor Natalya Zabolotna said the app had been hit by a cyberattack and warned residents not to click the link in the message. Ivano-Frankivsk governor Svitlana Onyshchuk said reports pointed to a cyberattack on the notification app.
The Air Alert app is supported by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and tells users instantly when defence alerts begin and end. The reports do not say how the app was compromised, who was responsible, how many users received the messages, or whether any user data was affected.
