In brief

• Users of Ukraine's Air Alert app in Kyiv received false nuclear, radiation and street-fighting warnings on the evening of 1 November.
• The Air Force said the app was likely hacked, that no radiation threat existed and that no sirens sounded.
• The app is temporarily offline, and officials advise relying on official channels and keeping emergency notifications enabled.

False alerts reached users in Kyiv

On the evening of 1 November, users of Ukraine's official Air Alert app began receiving notifications about nuclear or radiation danger, chemical risk and street fighting in Kyiv. Screenshots circulating online showed several threat types displayed at once over the Kyiv area (Zhakowano ukraiński system alarmowania. Fałszywe alerty o ataku chemicznym – Rzeczpospolita) (Niepokojące alerty w Ukrainie. Władze mówią o cyberataku – Onet). One message, written in Russian, claimed an Oreshnik missile was heading toward the country, and the alert appeared around 22:47 (Додаток "Повітряна тривога" зламали: показує радіаційну загрозу – Українська правда) (Українцям надійшло сповіщення про ядерну загрозу: що сталося із застосунком "Повітряна тривога" – UNIAN).

Air Force says the app was hacked

The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the app had probably been subjected to hostile interference. Its spokesperson, Yurii Ihnat, told Ukrainska Pravda that no radiation or other threat had been declared on the force's channels that evening. He also said the alerts about Oreshnik, radiation, chemical attack and street fighting did not match reality. The Air Force urged residents to stay calm and follow its official channel (Приложение Воздушная тревога было взломано, радиационной угрозы в Украине нет — Воздушные силы ВСУ – NV) (Застосунок «Повітряна тривога», ймовірно, зламаний, радіаційної загрози в Україні немає — Повітряні сили – Suspilne).

No sirens, app malfunctioning

No air raid sirens sounded during the incident. The Air Force published its statement at about 23:02. By 23:10 the app was malfunctioning and showing error messages, and it is now unavailable while technical work is carried out (Злам додатка "Повітряна тривога": Мінцифри пояснило, як дізнаватися актуальну інформацію – Українська правда).

Cyberattack suspected

Andrii Kovalenko, former head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, said unauthorised access to the app was possible and warned of a cyberattack, urging people to wait for official messages (У Києві прийшли сповіщення про ядерну загрозу та вуличні бої: що сталося – TSN). The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security SPRAVDI also reported the likely breach and noted that the fake message appeared in Russian. Kyiv Ukrinform reporting attributed the attack to Russia, though this has not been confirmed by officials.

What residents should do

Authorities advised users to enable emergency notifications in phone settings so that official alerts come through even in silent mode. They also advised going to the nearest shelter whenever a real signal sounds, and relying only on official Air Force channels for verified information on threats.