The cyberattacks occurred late Sunday in Ukraine and early Monday in Russia. It remains unclear whether the two incidents were connected. Ukraine temporarily suspended its mobile application, which residents use to receive warnings about Russian missile and drone strikes, but later confirmed that the service had been restored. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, meanwhile, said efforts to restore its application were still underway.
In Ukraine, the fraudulent alerts appeared in English, Russian and Ukrainian. The English-language messages contained spelling and grammatical errors. One notification in Russian warned: "There will be a nuclear threat across Ukraine. Do not worry, the Oreshnik is incoming," referring to a Russian ballistic missile.
A Russian Telegram channel linked to the country's security services reported that hacking group Hitcore had claimed responsibility for the breach of Ukraine's system. However, the claim has not been independently verified.
There were few indications that the fake notifications had triggered widespread panic in Ukraine. Instead, social media users responded with humour, sharing images of pets and AI-generated apocalypse scenes. Ukraine's air raid alert channel said "unauthorized parties" had interfered with the application and warned users against clicking links in suspicious notifications.
The country's Center for Countering Disinformation advised residents to rely on alternative emergency channels while the breach was being addressed.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said in a television interview that the cyberattack had not affected the country's security or defence operations.
In Russia, the Emergency Situations Ministry said a false warning had been distributed through its mobile application at around 2.45am Moscow time, reaching 33 of the country's 89 regions.
The ministry said it had identified the digital vulnerability exploited by the hackers and was taking measures to prevent another breach. It also clarified that the wider public warning system remained operational through text messages, media broadcasts and municipal sirens and loudspeakers.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian government agencies were under constant threat from cyberattacks, with an increasing number of such attacks involving artificial intelligence.
"All government bodies must take steps to improve the cybersecurity of our digital resources," he said.
The cyberattacks came as a limited ceasefire in Ukraine's southern Kherson region expired on Monday. The arrangement, which began on October 27, had facilitated humanitarian aid deliveries and evacuation missions into front-line areas, including the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky.
The incidents exposed vulnerabilities in government-operated emergency notification applications in both countries, disrupting access to trusted digital warnings at a time of continuing military tensions and highlighting the importance of maintaining reliable public alert systems.
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