Cyberattacks hit Russia, Ukraine after truce ends

Moscow's emergency warnings application fell victim to a massive cyberattack on Monday, just hours after Ukraine reported a hack in an apparent tit-for-tat exchange, as their most prolonged ceasefire came to an abrupt end. The emergencies ministry in Moscow alleged that cybercriminals disseminated false information on the app, which is specifically designed to alert the populace of impending drone strikes and other dangers.

Ukraine had reported earlier that its air raid alert system had been infiltrated, following baseless alerts of a radiation threat appearing on the application. The cyber assaults unfolded as the longest truce of the war, which was limited to Ukraine's eastern Kherson region, ended on Sunday after Russia declined an extension offer, according to Kyiv.

Moscow had not yet disclosed the identity of the perpetrator, while Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications SPRAVDI attributed the hack to Russia. The rare pause in hostilities, mediated by US first lady Melania Trump, commenced early Tuesday and facilitated a humanitarian mission to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky amid the war's fifth year.

The ceasefire, effective from October 27 to November 1, had marked an "important step in our joint humanitarian efforts with Russia," asserted Ukraine's parliament commissioner for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets. US-mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were slated to resume this month, having been put on hold since the US and Israel executed joint strikes on Iran in February.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced on Sunday that his nation would cease targeting Russian oil refineries, as demanded by US President Donald Trump, if Washington supplied Kyiv with potent Patriot interceptor missiles.