118 new sirens have been installed in the Mykolaiv region since the beginning of the war

A bird's-eye view of Cathedral Square in Mykolaiv. Archive photo NikVesti

The territorial automated centralised warning system continues to be updated in the Mykolaiv region. Since the start of the full-scale war, the number of air raid sirens in the region has increased by more than a third. During this period, 118 additional sirens were installed in 90 settlements.

This was announced during a briefing by Olena Horbachova, head of the civil protection department of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, according to NikVesti.

According to her, 296 sirens are currently connected to the system. In addition, 118 sirens have been installed in 90 settlements during this time.

At the same time, Olena Horbachova notes that the warning system was created back in the 1980s, so now it is gradually being converted from analogue to digital equipment.

«This is a rather complex multi-stage process, which must ensure the transfer from the signal transmitter in the city of Kyiv, reception at the regional level, notification of emergency services, activation of sirens, transmission to a mobile application, and delivery of the final signal to people in populated areas,» explained Olena Horbachova.

The modernisation is being carried out in stages due to the significant cost and technical complexity. The territorial subsystem already has design and estimate documentation. In 2025, the installation of the first phase of digital equipment began. It will make the system more resilient, allow it to operate autonomously during power outages, and enable the transmission of not only sound signals but also voice messages.

In total, 56 local warning systems are to be operational in the region. Two are already in operation in Mykolaiv and Pivdennoukrainsk. Another 54 are to be created in territorial communities and district military administrations.

«Technical specifications for the development of project documentation have been drawn up for 20 territorial communities. The construction of this system has already begun,» said Olena Horbachova.

It should be noted that as of March 2025, the total budget for modernisation was 85.6 million hryvnias, of which 59.9 million hryvnias will be allocated for the purchase of new equipment for district military administrations, communities and television and radio studios, 21.5 million hryvnias for software, and another 4.2 million hryvnias for installation work. On 1 August 2025, a differentiated air raid warning system for the population began operating in the Mykolaiv region.

The new system provides for three separate types of alerts:

• separately for the city of Mykolaiv,
• separately for the entire region, except for the regional centre,
• and a general alert for the entire region, including Mykolaiv, as was previously the case.

In the Mykolaiv region, air raid alerts were declared 928 times during 2025 until 30 December. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sirens in the region have sounded 3,913 times.

It should be noted that as of 2024, less than 4% of the required number of local public warning systems had been installed in the Mykolaiv region.

The Mykolaiv regional budget for 2024 allocated 6.1 million hryvnias to improve the public warning system.