Cyberattacks Target Ukrainian and Russian Emergency Warning Apps — World news

Ukraine's Air Alert app briefly issued false warnings of radiation, chemical attacks and street fighting after what authorities called a possible compromise, while Russia later reported a massive cyberattack on its own warning app; it was unclear whether the incidents were linked.

Ukraine's Air Force said on Telegram that the Air Alert app may have been compromised by the enemy and that there was no danger from radiation. The Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communication blamed Russia for the attack. According to media reports, warning sirens also sounded in some regions late on Sunday evening, and the app falsely warned of attacks with chemical weapons and of the danger of street fighting.

Authorities urged citizens not to click on links in the warning app. The erroneous alerts disappeared a short time later, and officials said the app was temporarily out of service. Other public warning systems and air raid sirens continued to work.

Shortly after the reports from Ukraine, Russia reported a massive cyberattack on its warning app. The state news agency Tass, citing the Civil Defense Ministry, said attackers had succeeded in sending false information to the population. The Russian authority did not say whom it suspected behind the attack. The ministry's warnings website was temporarily unreachable during the night.

It was not yet clear whether the hacker attacks on the Ukrainian and Russian apps were connected. The timing at least allowed for the suspicion that the attack on the Russian system was a retaliatory move by Kyiv after the attack on the Ukrainian system.

Separately, a six-day ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky and the surrounding area ended on Sunday. Shortly before, the Ukrainian military evacuated 167 people from threatened areas of the southern Kherson region. The local truce began on Tuesday and was observed by both warring parties; it had come about after mediation efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump and with the involvement of Pope Leo. It was the longest local interruption of fighting since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia has been waging its war against Ukraine for more than four and a half years, and air attacks and the regional warnings they require have long been part of daily life. During larger attacks on Kyiv, people often seek shelter in subway stations.

Sources: Der Spiegel.