Kyiv tightens security protocols as Russian drone barrages strain the capital
Kyiv introduced stricter security protocols on Monday for schools, public transport and parliament, as Russian drone attacks mount and officials say Moscow is trying to paralyze the Ukrainian capital.
Russia has been intensifying missile strikes on Kyiv for months, and in recent weeks has sharply increased the use of drones. Since last week, jet-powered drones have been striking Kyiv and the surrounding region, setting off more than a dozen air-raid alerts a day and disrupting businesses throughout the city. A weekend attack on an ammunition depot killed 38 people in the capital’s suburbs, and another strike on Saturday killed a two-year-old girl in a Kyiv park in broad daylight.
The tightened rules come as Ukrainian children return to school on Tuesday after their summer break. The Kyiv regional military administration said there must be no large events in areas deemed high risk. “It is essential to prevent large gatherings of children, parents, and staff of educational institutions,” said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the military administration. Kyiv city hall said it was preparing options including remote learning.
Even parliament is making contingency plans. Lawmaker Olga Vasiuk-Smaglevska said an underground shelter has been set up for members. “In the event of danger, MPs will be given 10 minutes to go down to the shelter,” she said. “The infrastructure has already been prepared there, with chairs set up for 330 members of parliament.”
The city of about 3 million is already feeling the strain. The metro no longer crosses the Dnieper River, which divides the capital, and the change has caused severe traffic jams. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Monday he had met with local officials to discuss changing security protocols, suggesting that at least one metro line should stay open even when strikes are active.
Residents have taken to social media to ask whether it is still possible to live in Kyiv, especially with children. Some are weighing moves to safer parts of the country. “The enemy is trying to paralyze economic activity in the capital and major cities,” Ukraine’s prime minister said on Facebook on Saturday. He warned that prolonged alerts affect not only safety but also businesses, logistics, transportation, schools and kindergartens, and called for security rules to be adapted to better protect people while preserving the ability to live in Ukrainian cities.
Others argue the current approach to drone alerts is too rigid. Because one drone in the region can shut down much of the capital for roughly 40 minutes each hour, life in Kyiv is starting to feel impossible, said Mykhailo Zhernakov, head of a legal think tank. “If, because of a single drone somewhere in the region, everything or almost everything in the entire capital stops ... we’re not going to last long like this,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
For Kyiv’s leadership, the challenge is to protect a wartime city without emptying it. The new restrictions may reduce risk, but the debate over how to keep the capital livable is only beginning.