Russia, Ukraine report cyberattacks on emergency, air raid alert systems

Residents received warnings of a 'nuclear danger' on Sunday through the air raid alert app, which millions of Ukrainians rely on for information about incoming Russian missile and drone strikes

Ukraine and Russia said they faced cyberattacks on emergency and air raid alert systems.

 

Residents of Kyiv received warnings of a “nuclear danger” late on Sunday through the air raid alert app, which millions of Ukrainians rely on for information about incoming Russian missile and drone strikes. The app then sent alerts about a “chemical danger” and said that “there’s fighting on Kyiv’s streets, don’t leave your homes.” 

 

The messages alarmed users of the app, prompting Ukraine’s Air Defence Forces to say that the system had been hacked. The service, which runs alongside regular air-raid sirens, said early Monday it was gradually restoring operations.

 

 

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said its emergency situation alert app had also been attacked and that specialists were working to restore it. Unlike in Ukraine, however, the app isn’t the main channel for emergency and air raid warnings, with many Russian regions relying on street sirens, loudspeakers and intercom networks in residential buildings instead.

 

Russia has intensified attacks on Ukraine, including on civilian infrastructure, in recent months, killing hundreds of people as the Kremlin seeks to erode public morale ahead of the fifth winter of its full-scale invasion. That’s as efforts continue to revive peace talks, with US-mediated negotiations set to take place in the United Arab Emirates this month.

 

Ukrainian strikes on Russia have also increased in intensity and range, targeting military, energy and logistics facilities. Over the weekend, Kyiv hit two Russian refineries, signaling a resumption of attacks on the country’s oil sector after a pause.