In a stunning display of cyber-juvenile delinquency, residents of Kyiv received a barrage of alarming - and entirely fake - emergency alerts late Sunday night, warning of nuclear radiation, chemical attacks, and street fighting. The messages, which appeared over roughly an hour, were sent through Ukraine's air-raid alert app, which authorities believe was compromised by "unauthorised parties." Because nothing says "psychological warfare" like a 10:47 PM notification reading: "Radiation threat. Radiation threat declared in Kyiv." One minute later, a message in Russian - a clear tell - cheerfully announced: "Hi! There will be a nuclear alert across Ukraine. Don't worry, it's Oreshnik flying." The Oreshnik, for the uninitiated, is Russia's hypersonic ballistic missile, which has previously struck Kyiv, Dnipro, and Lviv. Nothing says "don't worry" like a casual heads-up about an incoming nuke.

By 10:49 PM, the app had escalated to chemical threats and street fighting, urging residents to stay indoors. Ukrainian authorities quickly took the system offline and reassured the public via Telegram: "There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates." The Air Force suggested hostile interference, while the alert channel warned users not to click on "suspicious notifications." Locals, four years into a warzone, are used to their phones buzzing with real warnings - but even they found the fake ones unsettling. "I was briefly terrified," said one woman, Nina. "I lay on my bed and wondered what was coming." Others assumed the app had been hacked and ignored it. The messages were also written in English with spelling mistakes, because nothing says "credible threat" like a typo.

Meanwhile, in a parallel universe of cyber chaos, supermarkets across Europe are discovering that their freezers have been hacked and temperatures remotely cranked up to a balmy 50C - because why just ruin someone's day when you can ruin their entire inventory of frozen peas? Ireland's SuperValu reported a cyber incident at 13 of its 233 stores, forcing it to toss spoiled chilled and frozen products. In Estonia, a manufacturer of fridge technology said one client's refrigeration control was hacked and set to 50C; the Selver chain confirmed one store affected. Belgium's Carrefour saw 15 of its 700 stores hit, with spokesman Mich Vergauwen telling AFP: "It's a cyberattack, there is no other reason," while noting the "impact is very limited." Sure, if you don't count the melted ice cream.

This follows last month's mass hack in France, where hackers overrode settings on thousands of freezers, pushing them from as low as -27C to well over 50C. Stores discarded vast quantities of fresh meat, dairy, and frozen goods, with losses ranging from tens of thousands of euros to more than €130,000 (£109,000). Two stores in Alsace reported a combined loss of €270,000. The Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour, Leclerc, and Monoprix chains were among those affected. The attackers pirated controllers mostly supplied by Danish company Danfoss, disabled alarm systems, and extended defrost programmes by hours. Because if there's one thing hackers love, it's a thawed chicken.

In Sweden, ICA and Coop reported similar incidents; ICA said one store's freezer temperature was set to 50C. Ahold Delhaize, the Dutch multinational operating Delhaize in Belgium and Luxembourg, said dozens of its stores were hit by an "IT incident," following last month's hacks at its Albert Heijn stores in the Netherlands. Colruyt, which operates Spar stores in Belgium, said five shops had their fridge systems attacked. So if you're keeping score: Ukraine got fake nukes, Europe got melted groceries, and Russia claims its Emergency Ministry app was also hacked to send "fake information" - with Ukrainian cyber group Atesh claiming responsibility. One message reportedly told residents there was "a risk of getting lively" and warned them to "stock up urgently on food for three weeks and hide." Sound advice, really.

The fake alerts in Ukraine came as Russia resumed attacks on Kherson, just hours after a six-day ceasefire ended. A Russian drone hit a hospital at 7:40 AM, wrecking rooms and blowing out windows, though no one was hurt. Evidence suggests Russian forces used the truce to strengthen positions in Oleshky, rotate in new troops, and remove bodies from a hospital morgue. Footage showed soldiers deploying heavy equipment and ammunition, with armoured vehicles moving freely - something they couldn't do before due to Ukrainian kamikaze drones. "Now they have this opportunity," said Dmitry Pulinets, commander of Ukraine's 34th Separate Marine Brigade. "And for the last few days this movement has been happening constantly." The ceasefire, the most significant since 2022, expired at 11 PM Sunday. Both sides called it a success, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are no plans for another truce, noting it's "standard practice" to regroup in "such circumstances." Because nothing says "peace" like immediately regrouping.

Cyber-warfare expert Don Smith of Sophos noted the attack's amateurish nature: "Usually the best information warfare is not obvious or explicit, where this very clearly is. It could indicate desperation from Russia." He added that disinformation is aimed at grinding down mental resilience: "Their resilience is a key part of their ability to defend against the Russian military." So while hackers may have failed to cause mass panic, they did succeed in reminding everyone that war is now fought with app notifications and thermostat controls. Meanwhile, Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever offered his resignation after failing to pass a budget, leaving King Philippe to "consider his decision" and consult coalition partners. The king's statement lamented the lack of agreement in a context of "great geopolitical uncertainty." Indeed. When your freezer is hacked and your phone warns of nukes, a budget crisis almost feels quaint.