Zelensky confirms Ukraine hacked Russian alert systems in response
President Zelensky said Ukraine's cyberattack on Russian emergency systems was a response to Moscow hacking Ukraine's own air-alert app, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Ukraine carried out a cyberattack on Russian systems, saying it was a response to Russia hacking Ukraine's air-alert app, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
"They attacked our system. It was a cyberattack," Zelensky said, referring to the earlier hack of Ukraine's Air Alert app, which normally warns civilians of incoming Russian strikes. The app's service was briefly suspended but has since been restored, he said.
"When it became very clear... that this was their personal attack against our people, against civilians, of course we responded," Zelensky said. He described it as one of hundreds or thousands of Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine's banking, pension and social-support systems, saying Moscow wants to "cause chaos every day in Ukraine, in all our cities."
The hack of Ukraine's Air Alert app on Sunday night sent false warnings to users nationwide of nuclear, chemical and street-fighting threats. Hours later, Russia's own emergency-alert systems began showing signs of being compromised, Mediafax reported.
Follow this story
An email when there is a real update (a new toll, a cause, an arrest). Nothing else; stop with one click.
Free: one story at a time. Members follow as many stories as they like.
What we know
- Zelensky confirmed Ukraine carried out a cyberattack on Russian systems, saying it was a response to a Russian hack of Ukraine's air-alert app.
- Ukraine's Air Alert app was hacked on Sunday night, sending false nuclear, chemical and street-fighting warnings before service was restored.
- Zelensky said the response came once it was clear the hack targeted civilians, describing it as one of many Russian cyberattacks on Ukraine's public systems.
- Russia's own emergency-alert systems showed signs of being compromised hours after the hack on Ukraine's app, according to Mediafax.
Claims in this story
Claims tracker →- UnverifiedPresident Volodymyr Zelensky· 4 Nov 2026
Ukraine hacked Russian alert systems in response to Russia's earlier hack of Ukraine's air-alert app.
Why it matters for Europe
The exchange is one of the clearest public acknowledgements yet by either side of tit-for-tat cyberattacks on systems meant to warn civilians of military threats, adding a new front to the war alongside missile and drone strikes.
Sources
Reported by 2 reports from 2 independent outlets in 2 countries.
- Mediafax: Zelenski recunoaște că Ucraina se află în spatele atacului cibernetic împotriva Rusiei. Liderul de la Kiev susține că țara răspunde unui atac cibernetic anterior al Kremlinului
- Ziarul de Gardă: LIVE TEXT/ Kievul se confruntă cu întreruperi de curent de urgență și cu întreruperi ale alimentării cu apă, în urma celui mai mare atac al Rusiei asupra infrastructurii energetice din acest an. Război în Ucraina, ziua 1714
Source balance
PremiumSee how the 2 outlets behind this story spread from left to right, and which are official or OSINT sources.
Intelligence file
PremiumSee how we verified this story
Confidence and impact scores, the full situation report and the event timeline.
Questions and answers
- What did Zelensky confirm?
- That Ukraine carried out a cyberattack on Russian systems in response to Russia hacking Ukraine's air-alert app, he said.
- What happened to Ukraine's air-alert app?
- It was hacked on Sunday night, sending false nuclear, chemical and street-fighting warnings, before service was restored.
- Did Russia's systems suffer problems too?
- Yes, Russia's own emergency-alert systems showed signs of being compromised hours after the hack on Ukraine's app, according to Mediafax.
This article was written with AI assistance from 2 verified reports and checked under the ECTV editorial policy. Spotted an error? Request a correction.