Emergency alert systems in both Ukraine and Russia were targeted in apparent cyberattacks shortly after the end of a localized ceasefire in Ukraine’s Kherson region.
It was Ukraine’s Air Force that first reported issues, saying its public air raid alert app was sending fake radiation alerts.
The app for a short time showed Kyiv and other areas subject to a nuclear warning.
But the abnormality later disappeared, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday night. The air force said on Telegram: ‘The air alert app appears to have been subjected to enemy influence.
‘There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel!’
When asked whether the app had been hacked, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said: ‘Yes, it has been.’
Then, in the early hours of Monday morning, Russia seemingly had similar issues.
Authorities claimed a Ukrainian espionage group was sending fake warnings of nuclear strikes.
As of 2.30am, UK time, on Monday, Russia’s app was still down – but leaders insisted its wider alert system was still working.
‘The hacking of the mobile app has not had, and cannot have, any impact on the operation of the public alert system,’ it said on its Telegram channel.
The alleged hacks came just minutes, then hours, after the end of the truce between Moscow and Kyiv in the eastern region of Kherson.
