Phones across Ukraine lit up with a red-level air raid alert at about 22:47 local time on 1 November 2026. Within two minutes, people in Kyiv also saw warnings of radiation, a chemical attack and street fighting, the BBC reported. Two of the messages told them not to go outside.
The Air Force said the Air Alert app was likely compromised and told the public on Telegram: 'There is no radiation threat'. It asked people to stay calm and follow its updates. Officials describe an apparent cyberattack, but none of the sources name who was behind it.
Officials Used Telegram and Governors to Say the Alerts Were False
One false message, written in Russian, said an Oreshnik missile was on its way. It arrived at 22:48, a minute after the first Kyiv warning. Oreshnik is a Russian missile that can carry nuclear or conventional warheads.
Regional governors moved to calm people. Svitlana Onyshchuk, who runs Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, said the situation there was calm and pointed to reports of a cyberattack on the app. The app had shown a red-level air raid alert for her region between 22:50 and 23:57.
The Digital Transformation Ministry said it had temporarily disabled the app for maintenance after it appeared to be compromised. Reuters reported that other ways of alerting the public were working. The ministry told Kyiv residents to use a different app, Kyiv Digital.
All-clear messages reached phones at 23:53, each one closing out a Kyiv alert, and the State Emergency Service said the nationwide system was working normally by midnight. Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation advises that if the app is not working, people should turn on phone notifications, pay attention to sirens and read only official sources.
A Lawmaker Says Residents Spotted the Clues, but Some Sirens Also Sounded
Oleksander Merezhko chairs the foreign affairs committee in Ukraine's parliament and belongs to the president's party. He told the broadcaster the attack caused no panic, because people in Kyiv are used to 'practically non-stop alerts'.
The Russian-language message also raised suspicion straight away, he said, and he called such attacks part of cyber war that Ukrainians are prepared for. His account is one view, and no source measures how the public reacted.
Not every warning stayed on phones. Kyiv Independent reporters say alerts also sounded on streets across the country, including in Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine. The ministry had said air raid sirens were working, and the sources do not explain what set off those street alerts.
Officials also warned that the message could be a phishing attempt. Natalia Zabolotna, governor of Vinnytsia Oblast, told residents not to click the link in the message. The emergency service also urged people not to click links from unknown sources or spread unverified information. The sources do not say whether anyone clicked a link.
The App Reported Gradual Restoration While the Cause Stayed Unconfirmed
In its update at about 02:00 local time, the app's Telegram channel said operations were being restored gradually, with target display temporarily suspended. The team said it was adding security measures to prevent a repeat. It also said the app does not store or use personal data, so users face no threat.
Herbert Lin, a senior research scholar in cyber policy and security at Stanford University, told BBC World Service he thinks it is the first time this has happened to an official Ukrainian information app. 'I suspect it won't be the last', he said. No source named who was responsible.
A few hours after the false alerts in Ukraine, Russia's emergencies ministry said its own mobile app had been hit by a large cyberattack that spread false information. It said the main alert system was not affected and described the app as an extra news service.
The ministry said citizens are also alerted through sirens, loudspeakers, text messages, television and radio. Reuters reported that it is not clear whether the two incidents are linked.
