Alert notifications in Kiev after system is hacked — Photo: Reproduction/X
Ukraine and Russia reported this Monday (2) that applications used to issue emergency alerts to the population were the target of hacker attacks that caused false warnings about air, chemical and nuclear threats to be sent.
The invasions occurred just hours apart and coincided with the end of a six-day local ceasefire in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. The truce, which ended on Sunday (1st), was the longest recorded since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
In Ukraine, the public air alert application began issuing false messages shortly before 11pm on Sunday, local time, to residents of the capital, Kiev, and other regions of the country. The warnings mentioned alleged radiological and chemical attacks, as well as the risk of street clashes in some areas.
One of the alerts said that Russia had launched an Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead, and that a nuclear alert had been declared across Ukraine.
Shortly afterwards, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that the application had apparently been hacked. According to authorities, one of the pieces of evidence was the fact that the alerts were transmitted in Russian, although Ukrainian is the language required for the country's official communications.
“The air warning application appears to have come under enemy influence,” the Air Force said. "There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel!"
The Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation also stated that the information disseminated by the application did not correspond to reality. The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications attributed the attack to Russia.
Then, messages were sent canceling the false alerts. Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation reported that the application had been temporarily suspended, but stated that other public warning systems, including air raid sirens, continued to operate.
Russia also reports invasion
A few hours later, it was Russia's turn to report that its emergency application had suffered a hacker attack.
"Attention! The mobile application of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations was the target of a large-scale cyberattack, which allowed attackers to send false information to the population," the ministry said on Telegram.
One of the fake messages said that nuclear warheads had been launched against all Russian regions and advised residents to stock up on three weeks' worth of food and seek shelter in basements.
The message, however, did not attempt to reproduce the standard of official communication. The text contained colloquial language, profanity and derogatory terms against Russia.
The pro-Ukrainian hacker group Atesh published a screenshot of one of the alerts on Monday and claimed that the Russian app had been hacked.
The Russian government minimized the scope of the invasion and said that the application is not among its main means of alerting the population, but works as a complementary source of information.
Experts were working to restore the system to normal operation, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
“We ask the public to remain calm and only trust official sources of information,” the ministry said.
Attacks coincide with end of truce
The episodes occurred shortly after the end of a ceasefire located in Oleshki, a city in the Kherson region occupied by Russian forces since 2022.
The truce came into force on October 27th and ended on November 1st. Brokered by the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, the pause in fighting allowed the sending of a humanitarian mission to the city and voluntary departures towards areas controlled by Ukraine or Russia.
“The ceasefire, which was in effect from October 27 to November 1, has been concluded,” said Dmytro Lubinets, human rights commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament.
A Ukrainian military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Russian forces deployed on the other bank of the Dnipro River took advantage of the truce to mass new troops, move ammunition reserves and collect intelligence on Ukrainian positions with drones.
Outside the area covered by the ceasefire, fighting continued.
On Sunday, Russia reported that a drone struck an “industrial enterprise” east of Moscow during the early hours of the morning. Ukrainian media outlets said the target was the Kstovo oil refinery, described as one of the largest in the country.
Ukraine has been attacking oil and gas installations on Russian territory and argues that the offensives are a response to bombings against its own energy infrastructure.
US President Donald Trump has been pressuring Kiev to stop these attacks, arguing that they contribute to rising diesel prices.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said his country could stop bombing Russian refineries if Moscow stopped attacks on the Ukrainian power grid or Washington supplied more Patriot interceptor missiles to Kiev.
"We told [Washington] that if they want us not to attack Russian refineries, they shouldn't attack our electrical system. Another alternative: give us Patriot missiles," Zelensky told Fox News.
Analysts expect dialogue between Kiev and Moscow to resume this month, with mediation from the United States. Negotiations have been paralyzed since February.
The war began in February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. More than four years later, Moscow controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory.
