Air alerts in Ukraine will be split into two levels: what will change

In Ukraine, they plan to change the response system to air threats and introduce two alert levels — yellow and red. Different sound signals and different operating algorithms for transport, government institutions, and business will be provided for them.

This was reported by Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretskyi.

The new measures were prepared jointly with the military and the State Emergency Service in response to changes in Russian air attack tactics.

The government explains the need for changes by the fact that Russia is increasingly using prolonged drone raids, which can halt the operation of transport, enterprises, and other facilities for many hours even in cases where there is no immediate missile threat.

What the yellow and red levels will mean

Preliminarily, threats will be divided as follows:

• yellow level — primarily a raid by Russian strike drones;
• red level — missile danger, including the threat of ballistic missiles, as well as massive air attacks.

This is the basic division. The specific criteria for each level will be regularly determined by the General Staff and the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine together with the government, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the SES.

It is assumed that threat indicators will be reviewed weekly depending on Russian tactics and weaponry used.

Sirens will sound differently

For the yellow and red levels, different sound signals are going to be established. Thanks to this, a person should understand not only the fact that an alert has been declared, but also the nature of the immediate threat.

In addition, authorities intend to more precisely define the geography of alerts so that restrictions are introduced precisely on the territory where there is an objective danger.

Another change has already begun to be applied: the siren is no longer turned on repeatedly to indicate the all-clear of an air alert. The sound signal is used when announcing it, and citizens receive information about the all-clear through official warning systems.

During a yellow alert, cities should not completely stop

One of the main features of the new system will be different operating modes of cities depending on the level of danger.

During the yellow level, the government wants to preserve the possibility of work for some government institutions, local self-government bodies, enterprises, and other economic and social facilities.

For this, the Cabinet of Ministers, local authorities, the military, the MIA, and the SES must develop unified safety criteria.

Thus, a prolonged raid by individual drones will not necessarily mean a complete halt of transport and economic activity in the city, if the real level of threat allows work to continue.

In Kyiv, metro operation will be changed

The first concrete changes are provided for the capital.

During the yellow level, the Syretsko-Pecherska — green — line of the Kyiv Metro should operate fully.

At the same time, the city should significantly increase the number of ground public transport to compensate for restrictions on the Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska metro line.

In particular, ground transport should duplicate the route between the "Lisova" and "Dnipro" stations during periods when train movement on the open section of the line is impossible due to an air alert.

Also, the authorities plan to shorten the duration of the curfew in Kyiv. Other cities will be offered to review its boundaries based on the security situation and the needs of the economy.

For schools, rules will not be changed yet

Separately, the authorities decided to keep the current rules for schools and kindergartens. The new gradation of air threats should not yet change the algorithms of actions of educational institutions during an alert.

In addition, the government intends to review the norms for shelter placement in cities, settlements, and infrastructure facilities.

Particular attention is planned to be paid to mobile and modular shelters. Support measures are being prepared for businesses, which should simplify the installation of such structures and the refurbishment of premises in accordance with the new safety requirements.

The government also plans to weekly analyze the operation of the updated algorithms together with local authorities, the military, law enforcement agencies, businesses, and state companies.

The exact date from which the new two-level air alert system will become operational throughout Ukraine has not yet been announced.