By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv (EFE).- Ukraine has started displaying the presence and movement of Russian drones and cruise missiles on an official live map inside the Air Alert app, as the country adapts to near-constant attacks designed to disrupt its economy and ordinary life.
When the air-raid siren sounds in Lviv, western Ukraine, many passers-by first reach for their phones. In the past seven days, the city has spent over 72 hours under alert, yet most businesses stay open, and the streets remain full of cars and pedestrians.
More than 10 million people have downloaded the government-approved app, which now shows the approximate location and direction of Russian aerial threats in near real time.
“During airstrikes, every minute counts for people’s safety. It is therefore important that people have quick access to the information verified by the military,” Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said when the map was launched at the end of last week.
A new tool against round-the-clock attacks
The map is intended to help residents, businesses and institutions organize work and daily routines more efficiently now that Russian attacks occur multiple times a day rather than mainly at night, as was the case only a few months ago.
“It reminds me of taxi services such as Uber,” 38-year-old English professor Zoreslava Tarakh told EFE in Lviv.
During heavy night-time strikes, she stays away from the windows to minimize risks. In daily hours, she checks the app to see how far the drones are before leaving for work or other errands.
Before the map appeared, local authorities and the Air Force issued only general warnings about approaching drones and missiles, without giving numbers, locations, or flight directions.
Many Ukrainians therefore turned to unofficial Telegram channels that combined information leaked by soldiers with access to the army’s radars, official statements and sightings reported by residents on social media or specialized apps. Prolonged alerts have also led many to stop reacting so they can continue their daily routines.
The official map still carries a slight delay, deliberately introduced, officials say, to avoid giving Russia precise data on the position of Ukrainian air defenses, and does not show ballistic missiles, which can cross the country in a matter of minutes. Even so, it gives civilians and organizations a clearer picture of the threat they face.
Two levels of alarm
The map’s launch follows the introduction in early September of a two-tier air-alert system based on the severity of the threat, which also seeks to lower the economic burden of air attacks. Each hour of business closures caused by air alerts costs the Ukrainian economy about 45 million dollars, according to the government.
A yellow alert for single drones or a small number of them allows most businesses and organizations equipped with shelters to keep operating. A red alert, triggered by missiles, large drone swarms or combined attacks, requires everyone to take cover in a bomb shelter.
The constant modification of Russian weapons is testing the system, however, as Russia keeps increasing the use of faster types of drones and missiles.
With the air alerts lasting almost half the time in Kyiv and more than six days in Kharkiv over the past week, some residents have long resigned themselves to the constant danger.
“Sometimes, when the explosions are very strong, I instinctively run into the corridor,” 40-year-old Tetiana Barabanova told EFE from Kyiv. “However, I no longer hide in bomb shelters. It is scary, but people get used to it.”
The distinction between alert levels does not apply to schools where children are still required to spend hours in crowded shelters where proper studying is almost impossible.
In western regions, under increasing attack in the last few days, many pupils are now missing classes altogether while schools consider switching to online or mixed formats as the country constantly adapts to the dangers brought by Russian strikes.EFE
ra/dgp
