Ukraine's air raid alert app shows false warnings, hacking suspected

Ukraine's air force said on Sunday that the country's air raid alert app, used nationwide to warn people of airstrike threats, had apparently been subjected to enemy influence. For a short time the app showed nuclear and chemical alerts for Kyiv and other areas. An erroneous message also claimed that Russia had deployed its hypersonic Oreshnik missile. In a statement on Telegram, the air force urged people to stay calm and stressed that there was no radiation threat.

Local ceasefire in Kherson region ends

On Sunday Ukraine's military evacuated 167 people from areas of southern Kherson region as a temporary local ceasefire expired. Two days earlier, buses had carried residents out of the Russian-held town of Oleshky. The six-day truce in Oleshky and surrounding areas was reached through mediation by US first lady Melania Trump, with the involvement of Pope Leo. Neither side reported violations, and one Ukrainian lawmaker called it the "biggest de-escalation since 2022".

Kherson regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin told residents to be especially vigilant and to respond immediately to warnings of Russian attacks. A Ukrainian military officer who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity feared the fighting would be "worse than before" once it resumed. According to the officer, Russian forces across the Dnipro river used the calm to bring in more troops, move ammunition and gather intelligence on Ukrainian positions with surveillance drones.

Refineries and Patriot missiles

Ukraine has resumed attacks on Russian oil refineries despite pressure from US President Donald Trump ahead of the US midterm elections. Russian state media reported that Ukrainian long-range drones set fire to the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod oblast, shortly after a major strike on another large refinery in Samara oblast owned by state energy company Rosneft. Trump has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for rising global fuel prices and last month lifted US sanctions on Russian diesel.

Zelenskyy told Fox News that Ukraine would stop hitting the refineries for a month if Washington supplied powerful Patriot interceptor missiles for the same period. The US administration on Friday approved the sale of 500 Patriots to Ukraine, but Zelenskyy warned deliveries could take years. Ukrainian authorities have said for weeks that their interceptor stocks are dwindling.

US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine are due to resume this month, having been effectively frozen since the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran in February.