Ukraine's official air raid alert application, 'Air Alert,' was reportedly hacked on Sunday, causing users in Kyiv and the Lviv region to receive false alerts about radiation, chemical threats, and street fighting. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the probable cyberattack via Telegram, assuring the public that there was no actual radiation threat and urging citizens to remain calm.
The false alarms began around 10:47 PM local time, with messages in Ukrainian and Russian stating that a "Radiation threat" and later a "Chemical threat" had been declared in Kyiv. One alert even mentioned a "Street fighting threat." These were followed by a series of "all clear" messages.
In a separate statement, Ukraine's Central Intelligence Agency confirmed a failure in the app and advised users to rely on other official sources for information regarding air strikes. The governor of Vinnytsia oblast also warned users not to click on suspicious links within the app messages, noting it was a cyberattack. The 'Air Alert' app, supported by Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, is designed to provide instant notifications about air defense alerts.
Authorities have emphasized that there is no threat and have advised the public to monitor official channels for verified information.