Ukraine’s Air Force announced on Sunday that its “Air Alert” app had been compromised, after it sent false warnings of nuclear and chemical threats in Kyiv and other areas. The app briefly displayed alarms for nuclear and chemical incidents, as well as warnings of street fighting, according to Reuters. The Air Force stressed that unauthorized persons had interfered with the app’s operation and had temporarily disabled notifications. “There is no radiation threat! Stay calm, follow our messages on our channel,” the Air Force said on Telegram, reassuring the public.
Only two hours later, Russia’s Ministry for Emergency Situations said its mobile app had been the target of a “massive cyberattack, allowing attackers to send false information to the public.” It was not immediately clear whether the incidents were related. CNBC has contacted Russian and Ukrainian authorities for comment. These suspected cyberattacks come at a time when Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange strikes on each other’s territories and infrastructure, highlighting the digital dimension of the conflict.
Meanwhile, overnight, a local ceasefire in the destroyed city of Oleshky, occupied by Russia, and the surrounding areas in the Kherson region, near the Crimean Peninsula, expired. This temporary pause in fighting allowed humanitarian aid to reach the city and the evacuation of hundreds of people who had been trapped, mostly without access to food, water, electricity and medicine. It was the longest local ceasefire since the start of the full-scale invasion in early 2022, and both sides appeared to have respected the pause until it ended at midnight, Moscow time.
However, on Monday morning, local media reported that Russian forces had struck a hospital in central Kherson. Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said Moscow had used the ceasefire to reinforce its military positions in the city. “During the ceasefire, unit rotations by Russian forces, fortification of positions, expansion of anti-drone measures along roads, and increased logistical activity, including the delivery of munitions, were recorded,” the military body said early Monday, accusing Russia of violating the spirit of the agreement.
On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said October had been the deadliest month for Russia since the start of the invasion in 2022. During the past month, Russia lost 54,400 soldiers killed or seriously wounded, “a record for any month of the full-scale war,” Zelenskyy said. He added that Ukraine’s Defence Forces liberated 96.2 square kilometres of Ukrainian land in October – 10.4 square kilometres more than Russia captured during the same period, highlighting the success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Taken from CNBC