False Nuclear Alerts Triggered by Hacked Warning Apps in Ukraine and Russia

People in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine received false warnings through the Air Alert smartphone application, which is used to alert civilians about attacks. The messages falsely warned of radiation danger, chemical weapons strikes, street fighting and a Russian Oreshnik missile deployment.

Ukraine’s Air Force said on Telegram late on Sunday evening that the app may have been compromised by hostile forces and stated there was no radiation threat. Screenshots of the hacked app showed warnings of a nuclear attack using Russia’s Oreshnik medium-range missile.

Early on Monday, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry reported that its own mobile app had been hit by a cyberattack, allowing false information to reach users. Russian media published screenshots from various regions warning of nuclear attacks involving Ukraine’s P1-Sun drone made by SkyFall, a scenario described as technically difficult to imagine.

Officials in both countries said their wider public-warning systems remained operational. Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Ministry said air-raid sirens and other warning channels were functioning, while Kyiv’s separate Kyiv Digital app stayed available. Russia’s ministry said the breach of its app had not affected the national public-alert system.

Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications blamed Russia for the incident, while the Air Force initially described probable hostile interference before confirming the app had been hacked. The timing led some to speculate about a Ukrainian counterattack, but other actors could also be responsible.

Investigators have not established how the attackers gained access or whether one operation prompted the other. Two incidents hours apart do not by themselves prove retaliation or a coordinated campaign.

Air Alert was developed by Ajax Systems and Stfalcon with support from Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Ministry and can sound loudly even when a phone is in silent mode.