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Ukraine and Russia report cyberattacks on emergency alert apps
A woman walks past a crater in a residential area that appeared after a late evening Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, 30 October 2026.
Reuters
Ukraine and Russia have both reported cyberattacks targeting their emergency alert apps, with false warnings and misleading information briefly reaching users, raising concerns over digital security amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
False alerts spark concern
The app Ukraine uses for emergency alerts temporarily showed Kyiv and other regions as being under nuclear and chemical threat, while one erroneous notification claimed that Russia had deployed its Oreshnik missile.
“The air alert app appears to have been subjected to enemy influence,” Ukraine's Air Force said in a Telegram post, reassuring residents that there was no radiation threat and urging them to remain calm.
The abnormal notifications were later removed.
Ukraine's Ministry for Digital Transformation confirmed that the app was temporarily out of service but said other public warning systems, including air raid sirens, continued to operate.
Authorities in Kyiv also confirmed that a separate application designed specifically for the capital was functioning normally.
Russia reports separate cyberattack
In a separate incident, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said its mobile application had been targeted in a “massive cyberattack”, resulting in false information being distributed to the public, the state news agency TASS reported early on Monday.
It remains unclear whether the two cyber incidents were connected.
Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications, known as SPRAVDI, blamed Russia for the attack on the Ukrainian alert system. In a post on X, it highlighted a false notification written in Russian that referred to the Oreshnik missile.
The incidents come amid ongoing cyber and information warfare between the two countries.
Read more:
- Russian strikes cut power to hundreds of thousands in Ukraine as Moscow reports drone damage
- Ukrainian evacuated from Russian-controlled Oleshky arrive in Ukraine
- G20 talks overshadowed by tensions over Russia as ministers clash over Ukraine
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