"The siren sounds after the explosion": The Temporary Investigation Commission discussed delays in air raid alerts and the human factor

The ballistic air raid siren is sometimes heard at the same time as—or even after—an explosion. Representatives of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration were invited to a meeting of the Temporary Investigation Commission chaired by Oleksiy Goncharenko to determine whether it is possible to warn people about missile threats more quickly.

“The Kyiv Regional State Administration does not generate the alert,” explained Serhiy Tiutiunnyk, director of the Department of Civil Protection and Defense, “the region receives it from the State Emergency Service, and the State Emergency Service, in turn, from the Air Force.” At the Kyiv Oblast level, there is still a human factor involved after the alert is received: the person on duty must select the appropriate district on the control panel and press the button. On average, this takes up to 30 seconds.

Where the human factor
  comes into play

The alert system gives people time to reach shelter if a conventional “Shahed” threat arises. But the signal itself must pass through several points before residents in a specific area hear it.

Serhiy Tyutyunyk explained that after receiving information from the State Emergency Service in the Kyiv region, the signal is processed by the operator on duty. The operator selects the appropriate district on the control panel and activates the alert. Whether sirens are activated on the ground depends on the nature of the targets and an analysis of their flight paths. Taras Bakay, deputy head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, explained why the entire region isn’t constantly buzzing with sirens and how the selective alert system works:

“The flight path of the aerial target is taken into account. If it’s a slow-moving target—for example, a conventional or jet-powered ‘Shahed’—it’s easier to determine its flight path. Accordingly, the alarm is sounded only in the specific district—out of the region’s seven districts—toward which the target is moving. All other districts can go about their daily lives and work undisturbed.”

At the same time, the official noted that the enemy often resorts to exhausting loitering tactics, which is why sirens have to be activated either sequentially or simultaneously in several districts:

“Of course, the enemy sometimes employs tactics of terror—launching ‘Shaheds’ in a circular pattern. In such cases, all districts are forced to sound the alarm, since a drone can fly for a long time—8 to 12 hours—until it runs out of fuel. In the event of an attack by high-speed targets, cruise missiles, or ballistic missiles, the decision is passed down from higher authorities to lower levels. The alert is declared over a much larger area, necessarily covering the entire region and other adjacent regions.”

The main goal of this differentiated approach, according to representatives of the Regional Military Administration, is to maintain economic activity while giving civilians enough time to take shelter:

“In general, it is a differentiated system that is in place, rather than a blanket alert for the entire region, so that business does not come to a halt and people can continue working normally. The calculation is based on the time needed for people to reach shelter. For the ‘Shaheds,’ this estimated time is up to 15 minutes. On their own, without receiving a signal from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the duty officer cannot declare an air raid alert. Two and a half years ago, this took about two minutes. We’ve now reduced that time to 30 seconds. But the human factor remains.”

It is precisely this human factor that the region wants to eliminate entirely. To this end, Kyiv Oblast plans to switch to a new system that will automatically transmit the signal to the relevant area without manual intervention by the duty officer. Separately, there remains the issue not only of signal transmission speed but also of the community’s technical capacity to receive the signal. More than 200 siren units have been installed in the region, but local warning systems are not yet fully operational everywhere. 

“This is also related to funding. There are problem areas, especially in new residential developments and remote settlements,” explains Serhiy Tiutiunnyk.

Electronic warfare measures employed by the enemy can also interfere with the operation of mobile networks. Therefore, according to KOVA, the system has multiple signal transmission channels and a backup power supply: it uses optical channels, radio frequencies, and repeaters. All key components of the system have backup power supplies.

133 million for automation and Dnipro-based software: how sirens are being modernized and why malfunctions occur

 

In addition to the transmission of signals in danger zones, members of parliament questioned officials in detail about the technical reliability of the current warning system, since lives depend on its uninterrupted operation. When asked about possible delays, Serhiy Tyutyunnik acknowledged that isolated malfunctions did occur:

“There were rare, isolated software glitches—literally one or two instances. For example, when the operational duty officer’s workstation froze. That’s just technology. We work closely with the developers of this software.”

According to the official, the software developer and equipment supplier is a private company based in Dnipro. It immediately fixes any issues and helps maintain a reserve of signal units in case they malfunction or burn out. However, regional authorities are preparing to fundamentally upgrade the entire network. The new system is designed to completely eliminate the human factor when issuing danger alerts, as well as enable districts to respond autonomously to local threats, such as accidents involving chemical leaks.

The cost of this large-scale upgrade in the Kyiv region is 133 million hryvnias, and it is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2028. The tender was won by the private company “Ukrzaliznychaautomatika,” which, as emphasized by KOVA, is not affiliated with “Ukrzaliznytsia” and is constructing similar facilities in several regions of Ukraine.

Hopes for direct assistance from Western partners in the development of the siren system were not to be realized. Responding to a question from MP Kira Rudyk about the promised systems from Israel or Finland, the head of the Civil Protection Department noted that he was not aware of any such projects, and that foreign assistance is limited to targeted support:

“There is no direct cooperation in the construction of warning systems. We receive targeted humanitarian aid; for example, Germany donated two vehicles to our emergency rescue service, for which we are very grateful. But this does not pertain to the development of the warning system itself.”

Separately, the lawmakers focused on the operation of a differentiated alert system, which has been in place in the region since 2025 and allows southern districts to continue functioning normally when a threat is detected only in the north. Taras Bakay, Deputy Chairman of the KOVA, assured that the Air Force’s analytics team is working seamlessly, and that a clear rule regarding buffer zones is in place to prevent risks:

“If a UAV is moving along the border between two districts, the alarm is triggered in both districts simultaneously. We cannot recall any instances where an enemy target was already over a district but an air raid alert had not yet been declared there.”

Commenting on complaints from citizens that the sound of a drone is sometimes heard before the siren, the official noted that people often confuse the hum of enemy “Gerber” engines with the sounds of ordinary motorcycles, but every such report is thoroughly investigated by the military.

Yellow-red alert levels and financial difficulties faced by communities

 

Why do sirens sound differently in various parts of the Kyiv region? According to Taras Bakay, the difference in sounds is due to the gradual transition to new equipment. In areas where the outdated model is still in use, the familiar continuous hum can be heard. The updated siren units are capable of clearly distinguishing the type of threat.

At the yellow alert level, which signals a drone attack with a lower explosive yield, a short 30-second signal sounds along with a corresponding voice warning. A red alert signifies a dangerous missile threat and is therefore accompanied by a one-minute alarm sound and a missile danger announcement. Additionally, there is an anti-aircraft all-clear signal. Taras Bakay, deputy head of KOVA, believes that this level of detail has alleviated panic among the population, as people finally understand the true nature of the risk and no longer have to seek explanations through unofficial monitoring channels every time. However, it is not possible to quickly upgrade the entire network due to a lack of funding in local communities. 

Serhiy Tiutiunnyk appealed to members of parliament to help resolve the financial issue at the legislative level:

“There is a problem at the local community level, where not every community has sufficient funds in its own budget to develop and build its own local automated system. It would be very appropriate to include in the State Budget targeted subsidies or expenditures specifically for the development of local warning systems for those communities whose budgets do not allow for this.”

At the same time, the regional administration is awaiting the provision of appropriate data transfer protocols from the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in order to definitively eliminate the human factor from the hazard notification chain.

As for the possibility of speeding up ballistic alerts—when the siren sometimes sounds practically simultaneously with the explosion, or even after it—officials cite the limits of their authority. According to Taras Bakay, the regional system merely relays the received signal, whereas the speed of ballistic detection depends on the development of radar systems, visual surveillance, and operational intelligence from international partners, which is transmitted directly to the Ukrainian Air Force.