Zelensky has confirmed that Ukraine hacked Russia’s emergency alert system in retaliation for a Russian cyberattack on Ukraine’s, laying out the sequence in an interview with PBS News: Ukrainians received false warnings of an imminent nuclear threat through the app meant to warn them of real danger, and once Kyiv established that civilians were being targeted, it responded, after which Russian authorities reported fake alerts on their own emergency app.
Alerts Are Civilian Defence
An emergency warning is supposed to give people time to act. Turning it into a vehicle for a false nuclear alarm attacks the trust that makes the system useful. Moscow went after a civilian safety tool, then found its own system was vulnerable to the same kind of disruption.
Zelensky says Russia attacked first and Ukraine answered.
Starshield and the Launch Sites
Zelensky said he has asked Trump several times to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starshield. With broader access, he said, Ukraine could detect and strike missile launch sites inside Russia. The military stakes of the request are finding weapons before they are fired at Ukrainian cities, rather than relying only on warnings and interception once a launch is underway.
According to Zelensky, Trump said he supported the request and would try, but told him the decision largely depended on SpaceX. Zelensky also discussed the disruption of Starlink service in Ukraine. He said he was unsure whether Elon Musk could have acted alone in relation to Starshield, which he described as a military and government version. After the Starlink disruptions, Zelensky wanted to speak to Musk personally. Musk’s side did not get in touch.
An emergency warning is supposed to give people time to act. Turning it into a vehicle for a false nuclear alarm attacks the trust that makes the system useful.
Trump, Russia and Diesel
Asked to sum up his relationship with Trump in one word, Zelensky chose “emotional.” He also again criticised Trump’s deal with Russia to import diesel into the United States. Zelensky rejected the argument that the arrangement would lower American prices.
If the deal is about money and business, he argued, it should be defended on those terms rather than sold with a price claim he says does not hold up.