Kyiv to test city’s emergency warning system
Kyiv City Council in an official statement published on Dec. 21 announced plans to perform a test of the city’s civil defense sirens.
Part of the emergency population warning system, civil defense sirens are used to alert the general population of approaching dangers, such as natural disasters and air raids.
The Kyiv City Council promised to warn the population about this test run well in advance, once city authorities settle on a date.
The on-going threat of a potential Russian invasion means the Ukrainian capital’s administration must ensure that the emergency population warning system is operational, the deputy head of Kyiv City Administration, Andriy Kryshchenko, said in an interview with Ukrainian news outlet Babel on Dec. 15.
Kryshchenko suggested that Kyiv residents would be prudent to “worry a little bit” and plan for an emergency: stock up on supplies, find the nearest bomb shelter, and keep essential documents and a change of clothes at hand.
Civil defense classes and marksmanship training are being provided by local army recruitment offices around the city, and are available to all volunteers between ages of 18 and 60.
As of early December, about 100,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed near the Russian-Ukrainian border and in the temporarily occupied territories in the Donbas, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in Ukraine’s parliament on Dec. 3.
International media have speculated that Russia may invade Ukraine in early 2022, an operation that could involve up to 200,000 Russian soldiers.
Both U.S. and European officials have expressed concern over the situation. U.S. President Joe Biden has announced that the White House is working out “the most comprehensive and meaningful set of initiatives to make it very, very difficult for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to go ahead and do what people are worried he may do.”
During his talks with Putin on Dec. 7, Biden “made it clear the United States and its allies will respond with decisive economic and other measures in the case of a military escalation,” the White House said.
According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Russia has continued the buildup of its troops after the Biden-Putin talks.
Ambassadors from the G7 advanced economies issued an official statement on Dec. 12, warning the Kremlin that there would be “massive consequences and a severe cost” if Russia carried out further military aggression against Ukraine.
In addition, in a resolution adopted on Dec. 16, the European Parliament called for the imposition of “severe economic and financial sanctions against the Russian government to address immediate threats, rather than waiting for another invasion to take place before taking action.”
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