Fake nuclear warnings in Ukraine as Moscow, Kyiv report separate cyberattacks on emergency apps

Russia and Ukraine each reported cyberattacks on their emergency alert systems amid ongoing strikes, with fake nuclear warnings pushed through Ukraine's Kyiv-based alert app and Russian apps in multiple regions also targeted. Ukraine's State Service of Special Communications said hackers sent false alerts about an imminent Russian nuclear strike via the Kyiv Digital app, prompting officials to urge residents to ignore the messages, while Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor said alert apps in regions including Pskov, Kaluga, and Orenburg were hit with fake evacuation warnings. The incidents mark an escalation in the cyber dimension of the war, raising concerns about public trust in official warning infrastructure at a time when both countries rely heavily on digital alerting during missile and drone barrages. Officials in both capitals warned residents to disregard unauthorized alerts, and no casualties or infrastructure damage were reported from the cyber incidents themselves. Watch next: whether either side attributes the attacks, potential retaliatory cyber operations, and any moves to harden alert-system security as strikes continue.