Fake air raid alert tells Russians to head for nuclear bomb shelter

RUSSIANS were told to rush to their nearest nuclear bomb shelters and take anti-radiation pills yesterday, after hackers interrupted television and radio broadcasts in Moscow and the Sverdlovsk region with a message warning of an atomic missile strike.

It came as Russia fired rare, nuclearcapable hypersonic missiles at Ukraine in one of its largest long-range bombardments of the war.

Moscow said the launches yesterday morning were in response to a “terrorist attack” organised by Kyiv in Russia’s Bryansk region.

The strikes killed five people and knocked out the back-up power at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, one of Europe’s largest, prompting genuine nuclear warnings in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in Russia, viewers and listeners in Moscow and Sverdlovsk in the Urals were told to take potassium iodide, put on gas masks and seek shelter immediately in response to a nuclear strike in the country.

The Russian emergencies ministry blamed the false alarm on a cyber attack against state broadcasters.

Those watching on television were presented with a map of Russia slowly being covered in red, from west to east, while the sound of an air raid siren was blasted out of their speakers.

‘Urgent message. There was a strike. Urgently go to a shelter. Seal the premises. Use gas masks of all types’

“Urgent message. There was a strike,” a Russian voice warned. “Urgently go to a shelter. Seal the premises. Use gas masks of all types.”

After the message was broadcast, screens displayed a black and yellow radiation warning symbol. It was the third time Russian broadcasters had been targeted with similar stunts in the past month. “A false air raid alert was broadcast in Moscow after servers of radio stations and TV channels were hacked,” the emergencies ministry said.

The Daily Telegraph could not immediately verify the reports that originated in Russia. Some commentators suggested that the alleged hack could have been a false flag attempt by the Kremlin to prepare Russians for an escalation in the conflict in Ukraine.

Also, yesterday, more than 80 rockets were fired by Moscow’s forces at Ukraine, including six hypersonic Kh-47 Kinzhal air-to-surface missiles, according to Ukrainian officials.

“In response to terrorist acts in the Bryansk region organised by Kyiv on March 2, Russia’s military forces carried out a massive revenge strike,” Russia’s defence ministry said.

“The goal of the revenge strike has been reached. Critical elements of the Ukrainian military and energetic infrastructure have been hit.”