President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine carried out a cyberattack on Russia’s emergency alert system in response to similar actions by Russia. The head of state said this in an interview with PBS News, UNN reports.
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According to Zelenskyy, Russian hackers were the first to attack the Ukrainian system that warns the public about danger.
We respond only to their attacks
On Sunday, Ukrainians began receiving false messages via the emergency alert mobile application claiming that a nuclear threat was allegedly imminent. Because of the incident, the system was temporarily suspended, but was later restored.
Ukraine responded to the Russian cyberattack
Zelenskyy explained that the decision to respond was made after determining the nature of the attack, which was directed against the civilian population.
When it became completely clear that it was their attack on our people, civilians, of course, we responded
On Monday, Russian authorities also reported that their own emergency notification mobile application had been hacked. According to their claim, unknown hackers gained access to the system and sent users fake warnings.
During the interview, Zelenskyy also briefly characterized his relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump. When journalist Amna Nawaz asked him to describe it in one word, the Ukrainian president replied: "Emotional."