Ukraine says public air raid alert app sent false alerts after being hacked


FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises over the city during a Russian jet-powered drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 8, 2026. REUTERS/Anna Voitenko/File Photo

Nov 1 (Reuters) - Ukraine's ⁠Air Force said on Sunday that ⁠the public air raid alert app had ‌been hacked.

The app for a short time showed Kyiv and other areas subject to nuclear and chemical alerts ​and the threat of street ⁠combat. An erroneous ⁠message said Russia's hypersonic Oreshnik missile had been ⁠deployed.

"The air ‌alert app appears to have been subjected to enemy influence," the ⁠air force said on Telegram. "There is no ​radiation threat! ‌Stay calm and follow our updates on ⁠our channel!"

The ​abnormality later disappeared.

Ukraine's Ministry for Digital Transformation said the app was not in operation, but ⁠other means of alerting the ​public were functioning as were air raid sirens.

In a separate event, the mobile app of Russia's ⁠emergencies ministry was hit by a massive cyberattack that resulted in the spread of false information to the public, state news agency ​TASS quoted the ministry ⁠as saying early on Monday.

It was not immediately ​clear whether the two incidents ‌were linked.

(Reporting by Ron ​Popeski, Bogdan Kochubey and Jekaterīna Golubkova; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Stephen Coates)

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