In the evening of August 31, the government will discuss new rules for operations during prolonged air-raid alerts. Infrastructure Minister Mykola Kalashnyk said this, reports UNN.
Possible decisions also include changes to the curfew regime, in particular the introduction of exceptions to the current restrictions.
Details
According to Kalashnyk, the government is seeking ways to adapt the current rules governing the operation of cities and infrastructure to the new tactics of Russian attacks. Prolonged or repeated air-raid alerts are increasingly leading to the suspension of transport services, restrictions on the operation of businesses, institutions and services, and, overall, are having a significant impact on the economic activity of large cities.
Specific proposals are expected to be discussed as early as the evening of August 31 at a meeting with the prime minister.
"This evening, there will be a meeting with the prime minister, where we will determine further decisions. We are considering optimizing the timing, introducing certain exceptions to the rules or, perhaps, completely lifting them in certain cases. But all of this must обязательно be coordinated with the military," Kalashnyk said.
At the same time, the minister stressed that any changes to the current algorithms must not create additional risks for the population.
"People's safety comes first. We cannot risk a single life," he stressed.
This concerns, in particular, the possibility of reviewing certain rules related to the curfew. The authorities are considering optimizing its duration, introducing exceptions and other options for changing the current regime.
At the same time, there is currently no discussion of the general cancellation of air-raid alerts or safety rules during them. On the contrary, the government plans to develop more flexible response algorithms depending on the specific threat.
As Kalashnyk stressed, final decisions regarding the curfew must be coordinated with the military command.
Differentiated alerts
One of the areas the government is working on is the introduction of a more differentiated system for notifying the population about air threats. Currently, the announcement of an air-raid alert automatically triggers a number of restrictions on the operation of transport, businesses, educational institutions and other establishments. In conditions where Russia may conduct attacks in several waves or keep drones in the air for a long time, such alerts can last for hours.
Therefore, the government is considering switching to a model under which the operating algorithm for cities, transport and individual institutions would depend on the specific type of threat. At the same time, the exact categories of danger, the criteria for determining them and the corresponding operating regimes for infrastructure facilities have not yet been presented publicly.
What could change for the railway
A separate block of proposals concerns the operation of rail transport and railway stations. The options under consideration include ensuring round-the-clock operation of railway stations, reducing passenger boarding and disembarkation times, dispersing passenger flows and trains, as well as changing certain procedures during periods of heightened threat. The aim of these changes is to prevent situations in which a several-hour air-raid alert causes significant train delays and disrupts the operation of entire routes.
The procedure for organizing movement and the stay of passengers at railway stations during a prolonged threat may also be reviewed.
At the same time, all proposed changes must take into account the possibility of quickly moving people to shelters in the event of an immediate danger.
Metro and urban transport
The new algorithms may also apply to the operation of the metro and surface public transport.
Prolonged air-raid alerts can currently have a significant impact on transport operations, create large crowds of passengers and complicate movement around the city. The government plans to find a model that would, on the one hand, avoid shutting down urban infrastructure for long periods without urgent necessity and, on the other hand, preserve the current safety requirements in the event of a real threat of a strike.
However, specific rules on the circumstances under which public transport or the metro will be allowed to continue operating during an alert have not yet been made public.
Businesses and institutions
The changes may also affect enterprises, government institutions, critical infrastructure facilities, and other organizations. The government is currently working on various operating procedures for them, depending on the level and nature of the danger.
It has not yet been publicly determined which enterprises will be able to continue operating during particular types of air threats, or whether this will depend, for example, on the availability of equipped shelters, the facility’s location, or the ability to quickly cease operations.
All these issues are expected to become the subject of further consultations between the government, the military, and relevant agencies.
Context
Earlier, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said that the government was preparing changes to the operating procedures of the state and large cities in response to Russia’s new attack tactics. According to him, prolonged and repeated air-raid alerts affect not only the safety of the population directly, but also the functioning of public transport, the railway, enterprises, educational institutions, and other establishments.
The impact of hours-long restrictions on the economic activity of large cities is becoming a separate problem, as alerts can simultaneously complicate the operation of hundreds of enterprises and services.
The need to review the existing procedures has become particularly pressing amid Russia’s intensification of waves of drone attacks. Under this tactic, drones may be launched in groups over an extended period, while air-raid alerts may be declared several times a day or last for hours.
The government seeks to establish new rules that will reduce the paralyzing impact of such attacks on large cities without lowering the level of protection for the population. At the same time, the existing restrictions will remain in force until the authorized bodies officially change the relevant decisions.