Ukraine suspects alert app hack after false nuclear and chemical warnings

Ukraine’s air force said it suspected a hack of the country’s air raid warning app after users briefly received false nuclear and chemical alerts on Sunday. The warnings appeared for Kyiv and other areas, alongside an incorrect report that Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik missile had been deployed. In a Telegram statement, the air force said the app appeared to have come under enemy influence and reassured people that there was no radiation threat.

Hours later, Russia reported an attack on its own mobile application for warnings about incoming drones and other dangers. The Russian emergencies ministry said on Telegram early Monday that a large cyberattack had allowed attackers to distribute false information to the public through the service.

In southern Ukraine, the military said it evacuated 167 people from parts of Kherson region on Sunday as a temporary local ceasefire ended. The evacuation followed the departure of residents by bus from the Russian-held town of Oleshky two days earlier. The six-day truce covering Oleshky and nearby areas followed mediation by US first lady Melania Trump, with Pope Leo also involved. Neither side reported breaches during the ceasefire.

Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin urged residents to remain especially alert after the truce expired and to act immediately on warnings of Russian attacks. A Ukrainian military officer, speaking anonymously to AFP, feared fighting could become more intense than before. The officer said Russian forces across the Dnipro river had used the pause to bring in troops and ammunition and gather intelligence on Ukrainian positions with surveillance drones.

US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to restart this month. They have been effectively stalled since the United States and Israel carried out joint strikes on Iran in February. One Ukrainian lawmaker described the local ceasefire as the most significant de-escalation since 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has resumed strikes on Russian oil refineries despite pressure from Donald Trump ahead of the US midterm elections. Russian state media reported Sunday that Ukrainian long-range drones had started a fire at the Kstovo refinery in Nizhny Novgorod oblast. That followed a major attack on a large Rosneft refinery in Samara oblast. Trump has blamed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for higher global fuel prices and removed US sanctions on Russian diesel last month.

Zelenskyy told Fox News on Sunday that Ukraine could suspend refinery attacks if Russia stopped targeting its energy system, or if Washington supplied Patriot interceptor missiles. He said Kyiv would halt refinery strikes for a month if it received the systems for that period, and offered to find funding rather than rely solely on aid. The state department said the Trump administration approved the sale of 500 Patriots to Ukraine on Friday, but Zelenskyy warned deliveries could take years. Ukrainian authorities have warned for weeks that interceptor stocks are running low.