The Japan Times - Kyiv orders heightened security amid intense Russian drone strikes

After intensifying its missile strikes on Kyiv in recent months, Russia has also drastically increased its drone attacks.

Since last week, jet-powered drones have been attacking Kyiv and surrounding areas, triggering a dozen air-raid alerts a day and badly hitting businesses. One weekend attack on an ammunition depot killed 38 people in the capital's suburbs.

Ukrainian children go back to school after their summer holidays on Tuesday and the Kyiv regional military administration said there must be no large events "in areas with a high level of risk".

It is "essential to prevent large gatherings of children, parents, and staff of educational institutions", said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the military administration.

City hall also announced it was preparing changes including remote learning.

An underground shelter has also been set up for parliament.

"In the event of danger, MPs will be given 10 minutes to go down to the shelter," said lawmaker Olga Vasyliuk-Smaglevska.

"The infrastructure has already been prepared there, with chairs set up for 330 members of parliament."

- City divided -

The metro no longer crosses the Dnieper River, which divides the capital in two, causing traffic chaos.

Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram he had met with local officials on Monday to discuss changes to security protocols, suggesting one metro line remain open despite strikes.

Kyiv residents have taken to social media to question whether it was possible to continue living in the capital, especially with children, with some mulling a move to safer areas.

"The enemy is trying to paralyse economic activity in the capital and major cities," Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergiy Koretskyi said on Facebook on Saturday.

"Prolonged air-raid alerts affect not only people's safety, but also the operation of businesses, logistics, transportation, schools, kindergartens," he said.

He called for adapting security rules "with the aim of better protecting people and preserving the ability to live in our cities and communities".

Some in Kyiv -- a city of three million people -- consider the security protocols ineffective, with experts suggesting a more flexible approach.

"If, because of a single drone somewhere in the region, everything or almost everything in the entire capital stops for about 40 minutes every hour, we’re not going to last long like this," Mykhailo Zhernakov, head of a legal think tank, said on Facebook on Thursday.

On top of the Russian strike on an ammunition depot, another attack killed a two-year-old girl in a Kyiv park in broad daylight on Saturday.

T.Ueda--JT