Stockholm/Kyiv: A series of cyberattacks targeting refrigeration systems at supermarkets in several European countries and emergency alert applications in Ukraine and Russia has raised fresh concerns over the vulnerability of critical digital infrastructure.

To advertise here,

Supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Estonia reported problems with their refrigerators and freezers on Monday, with some stores forced to dispose of food products after temperatures were apparently manipulated by hackers.

The incidents come weeks after a similar attack in France, where hackers remotely accessed refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores, causing temperatures to rise and potentially ruining stored food.

In Sweden, ICA Group, one of the country's major supermarket chains, confirmed that "a limited number" of its stores had been affected by an overnight incident involving refrigeration and freezing systems. Company spokesperson Gustaf Nilsson told news agency TT that he could not provide an exact number of affected outlets.

The ICA Kvantum store in Sjobo, southern Sweden, said on Facebook that its refrigerators and freezers had been hacked and set to 50 degrees Celsius. The store said it was working to dispose of the affected products.

The Coop chain also reported problems with refrigeration systems at six stores in central Sweden, TT reported.

In Belgium, the Delhaize supermarket chain said an "IT incident" had affected refrigeration systems at several dozen outlets, mostly in Belgium and a few in neighbouring Luxembourg.

"In the affected stores, the range of fresh and frozen products is temporarily somewhat limited. Our distribution centres are operating normally, and there has been no disruption to deliveries to our stores," spokesperson Sarah De Meester said.

Carrefour Belgium said a "cyberattack targeting refrigeration installations only had an extremely limited impact," affecting 15 of its more than 700 stores.

In Estonia, Kitman Coldtech, a company that manufactures the affected technology, confirmed that one of its clients had been targeted. According to public broadcaster ERR, hackers accessed a computer controlling refrigeration equipment and raised the temperature to 50 degrees Celsius.

Kitman Coldtech CEO Jann Mutso declined to identify the affected store but said the attack was detected and addressed within minutes, with no significant damage reported. The Selver supermarket chain said one of its outlets had been affected.

The attacks in France last month appeared to have targeted older refrigeration systems.

Fake emergency alerts sent in Ukraine and Russia

Separately, authorities in Ukraine and Russia reported cyberattacks on their emergency alert mobile applications late Sunday, with users in Ukraine receiving false warnings about an imminent nuclear threat.

Ukraine said its emergency alert service had resumed operations after being suspended following the attack. The application is widely used by residents seeking shelter during frequent Russian missile and drone strikes.

Russian authorities, meanwhile, said hackers had accessed the Emergency Situations Ministry's mobile application and sent fake alerts. Efforts were underway on Monday to restore its functionality.

A Russian Telegram channel reported that a hacking group called Hitcore had claimed responsibility for the attack on Ukraine's system. However, the claim could not be independently verified. The identities, affiliations and motives of the alleged attackers remained unclear.

The fake alerts sent to Ukrainian users included warnings of high radiation levels, a chemical threat and public disturbances in Kyiv. The messages contained spelling and grammatical errors and were written in English as well as a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian.

One of the messages, written in Russian, said: “Hi! There will be a nuclear threat across Ukraine. Do not worry, the Oreshnik is incoming,” referring to a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile.

Ukraine's air raid alert channel said in a Telegram post late Sunday that “unauthorized parties” had interfered with the application's functioning. It also advised users against clicking links in “suspicious notifications.”

The country's state-run Center for Countering Disinformation confirmed the breach and urged people to follow other emergency communication channels on social media and rely on physical alerts while the service was being restored.

Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for Ukraine's air force command, said the incident had not affected the country's military or security operations, as the application was separate from military command systems.

Speaking to Ukraine's private 1+1 television, Ihnat said the air force continued to communicate real-time threats through independent channels, including popular social media platforms.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said hackers had sent a false alert through its mobile application across 33 of the country's 89 regions at around 2.45 am Moscow time (11.45 pm GMT).

The ministry did not identify the suspected attackers. It said the digital vulnerability exploited in the breach had been identified and that “necessary measures” were being taken to prevent a repeat incident.

It also said the wider public warning system remained operational through SMS messages, media broadcasts, municipal sirens and loudspeakers.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian government agencies faced a constant threat of cyberattacks, including an increasing number involving artificial intelligence.

“All government bodies must take steps to improve the cybersecurity of our digital resources,” Peskov said.

Fighting resumes after Ukraine-Russia ceasefire

The cyber incidents came amid renewed fighting in Ukraine following the expiry of a localised humanitarian ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow.

Authorities in Ukraine's war-divided Kherson region reported multiple Russian drone attacks early Monday, hours after the truce ended at midnight.

The regional administration said a 62-year-old woman and a 73-year-old man were hospitalised with blast injuries in the city of Kherson, which lies across the Dnipro River from Russian-occupied territory.

The temporary ceasefire, which began on October 27, was linked to a humanitarian aid operation in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. It was described as the most significant pause in fighting between the two sides since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly five years ago.

The White House said US First Lady Melania Trump had helped broker the limited truce. Civilian negotiators from both countries also contributed to the agreement, which allowed residents of Oleshky to be evacuated in a rare joint operation that concluded on Saturday.

An estimated 2,000 civilians were in Oleshky when the ceasefire began. They were allowed to move to territory controlled by either Ukraine or Russia or remain in the city after food and medical supplies were replenished. Authorities did not disclose the exact number of people evacuated, citing the need to protect those who remained.

Ukraine's General Staff said on Monday that Russian forces had used the ceasefire period to strengthen drone defences and replenish ammunition supplies in the area.

Elsewhere, drone strikes injured 12 people in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region and damaged a refrigeration facility, greenhouses and residential buildings, emergency services said.

Five more people were reported injured in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, where a warehouse was targeted and residential buildings were damaged.

Russia's Defence Ministry said it had shot down 212 Ukrainian drones overnight. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of the Samara region, said local air defences were responding to an aerial attack but did not provide further details.

Independent Russian media outlets later reported that Ukrainian drones had targeted one of Europe's largest oil transport hubs in the Samara region.