Ukrainian authorities are preparing to revise the rules for responding to air raid alerts, making them more precise and less disruptive to the daily life of cities. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his Telegram channel, citing a report by Prime Minister Serhiy Korytskyy, according to RBC-Ukraine. According to the head of state, the need for changes is driven by Russia's new tactics, which actively use drones to exert prolonged pressure on the civilian population and the functioning of urban infrastructure. The key idea of the reform is to link the level of threat with specific restrictions: transport, business, and social facilities will respond not to the fact of an alert itself, but to its nature.
Two threat levels and separate audio signals
The main innovation is the introduction of two levels of air threat: yellow and red. The yellow level, as the baseline, is planned to be declared during drone attacks, while the red level will be applied in the case of a missile threat, including ballistic attack risks and massive strikes. A separate audio signal is provided for each level so that people immediately understand what threat they are facing and how to respond to it. The specific criteria for declaring a given level will be determined weekly by the General Staff and the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, jointly with the government, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Emergency Service. It is separately noted that the re-sounding of the siren to indicate the all-clear is no longer used — the siren sounds only when an alert is declared, and going forward, audio signals are planned to be even more clearly differentiated by degree of danger.
Geographic differentiation and the functioning of the economy
The system is also intended to be geographically differentiated: the alert and corresponding restrictions should apply primarily to the areas where a real threat exists, rather than automatically to the entire territory. The government, together with local authorities, the military, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Emergency Service, must determine the conditions under which state institutions, enterprises, local self-government bodies, and other economic and social facilities can operate during a yellow-level threat. Thus, under a less dangerous scenario, the complete shutdown of city operations is not planned. In parallel, requirements for the placement of shelters in cities, communities, and on infrastructure facilities will be updated, including mobile shelters, and additional support measures will be prepared for business to accelerate the installation of modular shelters and the adaptation of premises to new safety standards.
Kyiv: metro, surface transport, and curfew
In the capital, the algorithms for the operation of public transport during alerts will be reviewed separately. Under a yellow-level threat, the Syretsko-Pecherska metro line will operate in full, while Kyiv is to significantly increase the amount of surface public transport. It is intended to compensate for the stops on the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska metro line during alerts, as well as to duplicate the metro route between the "Lesna" and "Dnipro" stations. In addition, Kyiv plans to shorten the curfew, and other cities will be offered to review its duration taking into account the real situation and the needs of business. City authorities, together with the military, are already working on updating security protocols, including the rules for traffic across the capital's bridges during attacks.
Weekly audit and financial support for healthcare
To monitor the effectiveness of the system, a weekly audit of the operating threat-response algorithms will be introduced: the government, local authorities, and business must regularly assess the situation, update measures, and coordinate further actions, involving military security structures and state companies. The government must also provide additional financial support to medical institutions so that state and municipal healthcare can maintain the required level of operation. By design, the rules are to change in line with the situation in specific cities and communities — with the aim of simultaneously strengthening the protection of people and not halting the functioning of the economy and social sector where the level of threat allows it.
What is not changing for now
The rules for the operation of the education sector, in particular schools and kindergartens, have been decided not to change for the time being. Thus, the reform is focused on the transport, economic, and infrastructural logic of the response, while the social education sector remains in its previous mode until a separate review.
