Hacked emergency alert apps spread fake nuclear warnings in Russia and Ukraine
Overnight into November 2, hackers almost simultaneously compromised the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's mobile app and Ukraine's Air Alert app. Users in both countries received fake notifications about nuclear missile launches.
Two national alert apps were hacked almost at the same time overnight into November 2: the mobile app of Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry and Ukraine's Air Alert app. Users in both countries received false nuclear warnings while the war between Russia and Ukraine continues.
What users received
In Russia, people were told that "nuclear warheads" had been launched "at all regions" of the country. In Ukraine, users saw a message in Russian: "Hi! There's about to be a nuclear alert across Ukraine! Don't worry, an Oreshnik is on its way!" The Oreshnik is a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile.
The source does not say who carried out the attacks or how many users received the messages.
Other developments in the war
In Oleshky, a city in Ukraine's Kherson region that Russian forces occupied in 2022, Moscow and Kyiv had agreed a temporary truce to evacuate residents. It ended on November 1. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry proposed extending it, but a Ukrainian official told AFP that "the Russians don't want to."
Ukraine's General Staff says Russian forces used the pause to "improve" their positions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kyiv had also used the ceasefire to reposition its forces, calling it normal practice. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States has offered Moscow a plan to sell Russian gas to Europe through an American intermediary. Europe flatly rejects the idea.
