Hacked apps' fake nuclear warning sparks unease, but little panic in Ukraine

Alarms raised fresh concerns

Ukrainians have heard frequent phone and street alerts warning of Russian drones and missiles. After years of repeated warnings, many people had grown weary and questioned whether the messages were genuine.

One person said seeing the word “nuclear” caused fear that a nuclear weapon was heading toward them. The fake alerts included some messages in Russian, and one carried a link to a Telegram channel apparently belonging to a hacker group.

Residents reacted with doubt

Anastasiia Romanytska, a 29-year-old ballerina in Kyiv, said she did not have the alert app but received the warnings from friends. She said she soon felt they were not serious, adding that perhaps she wanted to believe that.

Kochmar said people first felt concern, then quickly began joking about the incident. Ukrainians also use different apps that provide official air-raid warning information.

Expert warns of online risks

Yevhen Baliutov, a cybersecurity expert at Kyiv School of Economics, told the BBC he believed Russians had hacked the Ukrainian alert system. He said many people clicked a link in the warnings that led to a Russian Telegram channel.

Baliutov said those who followed the link could face further disinformation, phishing attempts or data breaches. While Russia and Ukraine are both widely believed to conduct cyberattacks against each other, the informal wording of the hoax messages suggested hacktivist groups, which may align with either side but are not formally directed by either government.

Trust remains a challenge

Baliutov said the incident had limited impact but revealed a weakness in an important system. Authorities already face the challenge of keeping people alert after four and a half years of war and warnings that can sound hourly. They must now reassure the public that protective alert systems are reliable and trustworthy, and that people should follow them.