A public outcry has erupted in Kyiv regarding the quality of communication in protective structures. Residents of the capital have appealed to local authorities to ensure full internet access in bomb shelters. A corresponding petition has already been registered on the official website of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCCA).
Psychological pressure of isolation
The initiator of the appeal is Alexander Hrynenko. In the text of the petition, he describes the situation people face during air raids. According to him, mobile internet in shelters is often unavailable or works extremely unstably. Existing routers installed in some premises cannot cope with the load from a large number of users. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of uninterrupted power supply: when the building is cut off, the equipment stops functioning.
The author emphasizes that the problem goes beyond everyday discomfort. «The lack of connection and information, sitting underground amidst the sounds of explosions, puts immense pressure on the psyche», — the document notes. In conditions of uncertainty and threat to life, the ability to stay in touch becomes critically important for maintaining citizens' calm.
Technical equipment and government control
Hrynenko calls on the city authorities to take control of the issue of communication provision. He argues for the need for modernization, stating that the costs of equipping shelters with modern communication systems are relatively small compared to the importance of the population's information security.
Petition number 14349 is currently in the signature collection stage. As of July 2, the initiative needs to gather 25,000 votes within the next 59 days for the authorities to be obliged to consider the appeal officially.
Safety standards and complaints
Parallel to the communication issue, experts remind of existing safety standards. According to data from the State Emergency Service (SES), the minimum area per person in a shelter is 0.6 m². For educational institutions, this figure is recommended to be increased to 1 m². The capacity of each specific room is determined exclusively by the project documentation.
Citizens who discover that a shelter does not meet safety standards or has technical problems are provided with a feedback mechanism. Violations can be reported to the authorities through special channels, including infographics prepared by RBC-Ukraine.
Previous initiatives
This is not the first appeal by Kyiv residents to improve conditions in bomb shelters. Previously, a petition was registered in the city demanding that metro cars be placed at stations during alarms. The authors of that initiative believed this would increase comfort for people forced to wait for the end of an attack in underground passages.
