Russian radio stations hacked, play fake Putin message announcing Ukraine invasion

Several Russian radio stations are hacked and played a fake President Vladimir Putin speech announcing an invasion from Kyiv’s troops and emergency measures in three regions bordering Ukraine, the Kremlin says.

The hacking comes amid several reported incursion attempts and intense shelling in southwestern Belgorod, and as Kyiv says it is preparing a long-expected counteroffensive.

The fake message, still circulating on social media, say that “Ukrainian troops armed to the teeth by NATO and with Washington’s consent and support have invaded the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk” territories.

The voice, very similar to Putin’s, also announces martial law, general mobilization and the evacuation of civilians in those three regions.

“This was indeed a hack,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is cited as saying by state-run agency RIA Novosti. “Control has already been restored.”

The Belgorod region administrative center says the message was a “deep fake” aiming to “sow panic among peaceful Belgorod residents.”

The Voronezh region neighboring Belgorod also warns its residents of a “hacking of radio broadcasting frequencies” and says “there is no cause for concern.”

The MIR radio station says the hacking, which it called “an absolute fake and a provocation,” had lasted around 40 minutes.