Users received bogus radiation and chemical attack alerts before the authorities disabled the app over a suspected cyberattack
Ukraine’s government-backed mobile air alert app sent out false warnings of nuclear and chemical attacks on Sunday night, Ukrainian media reported.
At around 11pm, the Air Alert app sent notifications urging residents to seek shelter due to a “radiation threat” and a “chemical attack.” It also warned of “street battles” in Kiev.
According to screenshots shared by Ukrainian media, one of the messages read in Russian: “Don’t worry, Oreshnik is coming,” referring to Russia’s nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile.
The Ukrainian Air Force urged residents to rely only on official sources. “The Air Alert app may have been compromised by hostile actors. There is no radiation threat!” it said in a brief statement on Telegram.
Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Ministry later confirmed that the app had been temporarily disabled following a suspected cyberattack.
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According to Russian Telegram news channel Mash, a hacker group calling itself Hitcore claimed responsibility for the intrusion. Mash reported that the hackers said they had tricked an employee of a Ukrainian company into giving them access to his computer.
Although Mash described the hackers as Russian, the group has not previously been linked to any known cyberattacks. Moscow has consistently denied allegations of involvement in such operations.
The incident came days after an apparent glitch in Kiev’s automated air alert system on October 26, when air raid warnings were issued and canceled several times within just five minutes. Officials blamed a “technical malfunction” and apologized for the disruption.
Ukraine has stepped up requests for additional air defense interceptors from the US and its European partners in recent months as its own defenses have struggled to counter Russian missile barrages and jet-powered drones.
Relations with Washington have become strained, however, as Kiev has refused to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, which US President Donald Trump has blamed for soaring fuel prices, and criticized his decision to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports.
Ukraine was also caught off guard by sudden disruptions to Starlink and Starshield satellite services widely used by its military, which officials in Kiev linked to US efforts to pressure Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.
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