The official alert apps of Ukraine and Russia sent false warnings of nuclear threats to millions of users on Sunday, with both sides saying their systems had been compromised.
Ukraine’s air-raid warning app is used by 6.7 million people, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and app developer Ajax Systems.
Ukraine was first hit by false alerts, with its air-raid warning app sending out a “radiation threat in Kiev” message in Ukrainian just before midnight.
A follow-up message in Russian said: “Nuclear alerts will be heard across Ukraine. Don’t worry, it’s Oreshnik flying.”
The Oreshnik missile is considered one of Russia’s most powerful medium-range ballistic missiles. It flies about 10 times the speed of sound and can disperse multiple warheads. Russia says it also has the capability to carry nuclear warheads.
Other false messages warned of chemical threats and “street fights” in Kiev, according to screenshots seen by Business Insider.
The Ukrainian Air Force’s Telegram channel, which Ukrainians often rely on for alerts about air strikes and drone threats, explain It later stated that “there is no radiation threat” and that its app may have been compromised.
Ukraine’s Strategic Communications Center SPRAVDI accused Russia of sending false information.
“If you see strange messages in the app, please ignore them,” it said in a post on X.
Hours later, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said its mobile app had also “suffered a massive cyberattack” that sent false messages to the public.
A regional air-raid alert Telegram channel run by the ministry issued meaningless warnings in vulgar Russian, according to screenshots seen by Business Insider.
One message said the “P1-Sun aircraft carrier,” referring to a small Ukrainian interceptor quadcopter, was launching nuclear warheads toward Russia. Another message urged Russians to stock up on food at home for three weeks.
Russia has not formally accused anyone of carrying out the cyber attacks.
As the war rages on, both Ukraine and Russia have launched cyberattacks against each other, disrupting public alert services or causing them to issue false warnings. Kyiv has also accused Russia of launching cyber attacks on critical civilian and energy infrastructure.
A similar incident occurred in Russia in February 2023, when multiple radio stations suddenly began broadcasting false air strike and missile warnings at a time when Ukrainian attacks on Moscow were extremely rare.
A week after the first attack, hackers compromised multiple private Russian radio and television stations, sending out audio alerts and displaying visual alerts warning of false attacks.