Hackers send fake nuclear threat alert to Ukraine emergency app

Residents in Kyiv also warned of chemical attack and street-to-street fighting in false message sent by unknown party

Unknown hackers have targeted Ukraine’s nationwide emergency alert mobile app, sending residents in Kyiv a warning that they were at risk of an imminent nuclear strike.

The app reported a high possibility of nuclear radiation late on Sunday. It also wrongly warned of a chemical threat to the Ukrainian capital and street-to-street fighting. The messages were written in English with spelling mistakes, as well as in Ukrainian.

Many residents ignored the alerts, which began shortly before 11pm local time, assuming that the app had been compromised. Others were scared. “I was briefly terrified,” one woman, Nina, said. “I lay on my bed and wondered what was coming.”