Kyiv Independent hit by cyberattack; fake emails sent to readers

Key facts

• Hackers gained access to the Kyiv Independent's content management system and a newsletter service, the outlet said.
• Editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko said the outlet is treating the attack very seriously and it is the first of its kind against it.
• Chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk said the team has worked with cybersecurity specialists since the night to stop the attack.
• The outlet said bank details of members and donors are not at risk because payments are handled by third-party systems.
• The fake emails contained claims about President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kyiv Independent said it came under a cyberattack on November 4, 2026, that disrupted its website and led some readers to receive emails containing fake claims in Russian and English. The outlet said hackers gained access to its content management system and to one of the services it uses to send newsletters.

"This is the first time an attack like this has happened to us, and we are treating it very seriously," editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko said. The outlet said the content of the fake claims points to a Russian operation.

The hackers sent four emails and posted similar messages on the website, which staff deleted immediately, the Kyiv Independent said. The first email, sent at 1 a.m. Kyiv time on November 4, claimed that Zelensky had launched a nuclear warhead at Kyiv as proof of friendship after meeting Putin, and contained a username of an anonymous Telegram channel. A second Russian-language email was sent at 2:30 p.m. local time, followed by an English email at 3:05 p.m. and another in Russian, the outlet said.

The Kyiv Independent said the bank details of its members and donors are not at risk because all payment and banking information is handled by secure third-party payment systems. Chief operating officer Zakhar Protsiuk said the team had been working with cybersecurity specialists since the night to stop the attack and identify vulnerabilities.

The outlet said the attack has similarities with the hack of the government app Ukrainians use for air raid alerts three days earlier. Several fake alerts warning of nuclear, chemical and street fighting threats were sent to users' phones and cleared about an hour later. Zelensky confirmed in a PBS News interview on November 2 that the app hack was a Russian attack.