Ukraine, Russian alert systems hit with cyberattacks that spread alarming messages
What happened
Hackers hit the emergency alert apps of both Ukraine and Russia late Sunday, sending residents fake warnings, officials in both countries said.
Ukrainians received messages that Kyiv faced a high danger of nuclear radiation, according to the Associated Press.
Ukraine's air raid alert channel said on Telegram that unauthorized parties had interfered with the app, which was suspended and then restored overnight.
The false alerts also invoked a chemical threat and public unrest in the capital, and were riddled with spelling and grammar errors.
One fake post named the hacking group Hitcore, and the Russian Telegram channel Mash said Hitcore's representatives had claimed responsibility; that claim could not be independently verified.
Russian officials said hackers got into the Emergency Ministry's mobile app and sent fake alerts; the ministry did not say who was behind it and added that sirens, SMS and broadcasts kept working normally.
Summary written by AI from 3 independent sources (DW, Arab Times, France 24) and checked automatically against them for copied text and numbers that are not in the sources. How we work
Open on the live globe →Who reported it
- 2026-11-02 02:48 UTCDW · dw.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 09:30 UTCArab Times via AP · arabtimesonline.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 10:20 UTCFrance 24 · france24.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 10:44 UTCKhaama Press · khaama.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 10:54 UTCCBC · cbc.ca ↗
- 2026-11-02 11:11 UTCGuardian · theguardian.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 11:18 UTCCNBC · cnbc.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 12:14 UTCCyprus Mail · cyprus-mail.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 18:23 UTCAl Jazeera · aljazeera.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 18:28 UTCBBC · bbc.co.uk ↗
- 2026-11-02 19:51 UTCNYT · nytimes.com ↗
- 2026-11-02 22:50 UTCMyJoyOnline same text as BBC · myjoyonline.com ↗
More from Ukraine
- Germany’s Merz in Kyiv announces $1.5B in aid, urges Putin to end war 24 sources
- Speed of Starshield Satellite Network Is Improving, Ukraine Says 21 sources
- Musk ordered slowdown of Starlink service Ukraine military relies on, report says 19 sources
- US approves sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine 18 sources
- Ukraine says Starlink and Starshield operating at 400 kilometers per hour after week of throttling 17 sources
- Putin agrees to resume three-way talks with Kyiv and Washington 14 sources
- Ukraine troops report ongoing problems with Starlink satellite network 14 sources
- Russia halts strikes on Ukraine’s Kherson as Oleshky ceasefire takes effect 14 sources