According to RadarOnline.com, a nuclear attack warning was urgently broadcasted throughout Russia this week, instructing its citizens to seek shelter immediately.

This alarming announcement reportedly swept across the country on Thursday, coinciding with the ongoing conflict between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine.

As per the Ministry of Russian Emergencies, the recent nuclear attack warning broadcast in the county was allegedly a deceptive act by unidentified hackers.

Daily Star reports that this was the third hoax of its kind to occur in Russia within recent weeks.

“Urgent message,” the warning, which interrupted both TV and radio broadcasts across Russia, said. “There has been a strike. Urgently go to a shelter.”

“Seal the premises. Use gas masks of all types,” the warning continued alongside a visual of Russia slowly being covered in a wave of red. “In the absence of gas masks, use cotton-gauze bandages. Take potassium iodide pills.”

The warning message advised people to stay calm and seek medical assistance if their condition deteriorates. However, the Russian ministry later declared the nuclear attack warning to be a false alarm, purportedly caused by a group of hackers, after the announcement had ended.

“A false air raid alert was broadcast in Moscow after servers of radio stations and TV channels were hacked,” the government said.

Thursday’s incident came just days after a similar warning was broadcasted across Russia on February 22 – although the false alarm warning in February was blamed on Ukraine.

Reports have emerged claiming that the recent nuclear attack warning hoax in Russia may have been a deliberate ploy by the Kremlin to prepare the nation and its citizens for a potential nuclear attack from Putin. Shockingly, some Russian insiders allegedly believe this to be the case. As previously reported by RadarOnline.com, with Putin’s forces reportedly facing significant losses in Ukraine, the 70-year-old Russian leader is expected to increase his dependence on nuclear weapons.

“[Putin] will become even more reliant on asymmetric options such as nuclear, cyber, space capabilities, and on China,” U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines recently revealed.

“We do think that could be the case in the event that he perceives that he is losing the war in Ukraine,” she explained. “And that NATO in effect is either intervening or about to intervene in that context.”

“Which would obviously contribute to a perception that he is about to lose the war in Ukraine.”