Zelenskyy confirms Ukraine hacked Russian emergency alert app
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's app was hacked and pushed a fake nuclear strike warning to users; the ministry itself confirmed the cyberattack and says remediation is underway. President Zelenskyy told PBS that Ukraine carried out the hack, in retaliation after a similar attack on Ukraine's alert system spread false radiation, chemical and nuclear warnings in Kyiv. Public alert channels demand strict access control and monitoring of outbound messages.
What happened
Hackers broke into the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry's app and pushed a fake nuclear strike warning to users. The Russian ministry confirmed the breach and said remediation is underway. In a PBS interview, President Zelenskyy confirmed Ukraine carried out the attack, in retaliation for a similar hack of Ukraine's alert system.
Why it matters
The case shows that official alert channels can be hijacked to spread panic with false nuclear war warnings. Any company that pushes urgent messages to customers depends on that channel's integrity; once compromised, it becomes a disinformation tool and destroys trust.
What to do
Treat emergency communication channels as critical systems: review who holds send access, enforce strong authentication, and monitor outbound messages in real time.
For the technical team
- Affected
- Ministério russo das Situações de Emergência (MChS) Aplicativo russo de alerta de emergência; invasão teria enviado avisos falsos de ataque nuclear iminente · Russian MChS emergency alert app; versions not cited in the sources.
- Exploitation
- Attack executed and confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, with a fake nuclear strike warning sent to users; local press reported recipients in Perm. Zelenskyy confirmed to PBS that Ukraine carried out the intrusion.
- Fix
- The ministry says remediation is underway; no specific fix cited in the sources.
- Vector
- Mobile app of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MChS); sources do not describe the technical flaw or exploitation condition.
- More details
- Chain reported in an X post (Faytuks): Russian hackers had earlier hacked Ukraine's danger alert system, sending false nuclear weapons warnings; Ukrainian hackers returned the attack on Russia's emergency system. The fake message began with 'Don't worry!' and said the warheads were coming on a small Ukrainian drone. Attribution to Ukrainian hackers first appeared on social media; confirmation came from Zelenskyy, not from Russia.
Timeline
Zelenskyy tells PBS that Ukraine hacked Russia's emergency-alert app in retaliation.
Russia's emergency ministry confirms cyberattack and says remediation is underway; local press reports false alert recipients in Perm.
Brazilian press and social posts now cover the emergency app hacks in Russia and Ukraine side by side, both used to spread fake nuclear strike warnings.
Want the next updates in your inbox? Get the daily edition →
See all 11 updates
The fake alert began 'Don't worry!' and claimed the warheads were on a small Ukrainian drone; Ukrainian hackers call it payback for the earlier hijack of Ukraine's air-raid alert app.
Viral post says Russian and Ukrainian emergency alert systems were both hijacked to tell the public a non-existent nuclear war had begun.
New report ties the cases together: alert systems in Ukraine and Russia were hit hours apart, both with fake nuclear attack warnings.
Social media posts say the fake nuclear attack warnings in Russia's official emergency app appeared hours after a similar attack on Ukraine's alert system, which triggered false radiation, chemical threat and combat alerts in Kyiv.
X post reports a same-day exchange of hacks between the two countries, with Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry breached after Ukraine's air alert system.
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry confirms its app was hacked to send a fake nuclear strike warning, hours after similar false alerts in Ukraine.
Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry confirms its app was hacked and that attackers sent a fake nuclear strike alert; a social media post attributes the spoof to Ukrainian hackers, in retaliation for the similar attack on Ukraine's alert system.
First reports say Russia acknowledged the hack of its emergency alert app with a fake nuclear strike warning.
Sources 15 sources
- @BRICSinfo @BRICSinfo
- @Maks_NAFO_FELLA @Maks_NAFO_FELLA
- @BNODesk @BNODesk
- @Faytuks @Faytuks
- @Osint613 @Osint613
See all 16 sources
- @AZ_Intel_ @AZ_Intel_
- @Polymarket @Polymarket
- @NotWoofers @NotWoofers
- @laderechadiario @laderechadiario
- @TheInsiderPaper @TheInsiderPaper
- @RealAlexJones @RealAlexJones
- @IntCyberDigest @IntCyberDigest
- @Metropoles @Metropoles
- @Cappyarmy @Cappyarmy
- @DailyDarkWeb @DailyDarkWeb
- @DailyDarkWeb @DailyDarkWeb
