The Ukrainian Air Force stated that on Sunday, its Air Alert application was compromised after it was alleged to have sent false nuclear and chemical threat alerts to Kiev and other regions.
According to Reuters, the app briefly displayed alerts for nuclear and chemical incidents, as well as warnings of street battles. The Air Force stated that unauthorized individuals interfered with the operation of the app and has temporarily disabled push notifications.
The Air Force stated on Telegram: "There is no radiation threat! Please stay calm and pay attention to the updates on our channel." This is the translated statement.
Two hours later, Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations stated that its mobile applications also suffered from "serious cyberattacks, allowing the attackers to send false information to the public."
It is not yet clear whether these incidents are related. CNBC has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian authorities in this regard to seek their comments.
The local ceasefire in Kherson and Oleshki has expired.
At the time of the alleged cyberattack, Russia and Ukraine were still continuing to strike each other's territories and infrastructure.
During the night, a local ceasefire in the city of Oleshki and surrounding areas, which are located near the Crimean Peninsula and have been severely damaged in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, came to an end. This temporary ceasefire allowed humanitarian aid to reach the city and helped hundreds of people who had been trapped for a long time and had almost no access to food, water, electricity, or medicine to evacuate.
This is the longest-lasting local ceasefire since the full-scale invasion began in early 2022, and both sides seem to have abided by this pause until midnight Moscow time.
On Monday morning, local media reported that Russian forces attacked a hospital in the center of Kherson; the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces stated that Moscow used the ceasefire to strengthen its military positions in the city.
Ukrainian military authorities stated earlier on Monday: "During the ceasefire, there were records of Russian troops rotating, fortifying their positions, expanding anti-drone measures along roads, and an increase in logistical activities, including the transportation of ammunition."
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy stated that October was the month in which Russia suffered the heaviest losses since the invasion began in 2022.
Zelensky stated that in the past month, 54,400 Russian soldiers have been killed or seriously injured, "which is a record for any single month since the beginning of the full-scale war"; he also added that Ukrainian defense forces regained 96.2 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in October, which is 10.4 square kilometers more than the area seized by Russia during the same period.
