Residents of Mykolaiv are asking for the sirens to be made quieter; the authorities say they cannot be adjusted

A bird’s-eye view of Soborna Square in Mykolaiv. Archive photo NikVesti

Residents of Mykolaiv are complaining that the air-raid sirens are too loud and are asking for the volume to be turned down or for the duration of the sirens to be reduced. The authorities explain that the sirens are set to their factory defaults, which cannot be changed.

Residents have submitted relevant requests via the Contact Centre page of the Mykolaiv City Council, NikVesti reports.

In particular, Mykolaiv resident Valerii Abramov has asked for the volume of the siren in the city’s Central District to be turned down.

«We would very much like you to turn down the volume of the siren. At 166 Tsentralnyi Avenue, the sound is so loud that it’s impossible to sleep at night. Young children are very sensitive to extremely loud noises. We ask that the volume be reduced at least for the summer, when everyone has their windows open,» he wrote.

Another resident, Olena Plokhotnyk, requested that the duration of the siren be reduced in the Inhulskyi District.

«I ask that the duration of the air-raid siren at 18–18a Budivelnykiv Street be reduced; there is no peace either by day or by night, as it lasts for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. I realise we can’t do without it, but could you at least reduce the duration?» the appeal reads.

Comments under the posts also expressed dissatisfaction with the duration of the sirens. In particular, user Andrii Finko wrote that, in his opinion, the frequent and prolonged sirens place an additional strain on people.

«I agree — not only is the siren long, but they’ve crammed them in so densely that it sounds like a whole symphony orchestra, and they’ve even added echoes. The question is: what on earth for? Just make them less frequent and quieter, and don’t have the siren going on for half an hour. That really is a case of ‘make a fool pray to God’,» the user remarked.

In the comments under the posts, Nata Sokolik pointed out that the constant siren signals are psychologically draining for people.

«Everyone’s already at their wits’ end – what good are these sirens when there’s nowhere to hide?» she wrote.

The Rapid Response Service explained that the warning system operates in accordance with legal requirements. Under a Cabinet of Ministers resolution, the «Attention Everyone» warning signal must last between three and five minutes, after which people must seek shelter.

They also emphasised that it is impossible to adjust the volume of the sirens, partly due to the factory settings.

«The installed electric siren, with a 360-degree rotation radius, is factory-set by the manufacturer and cannot be adjusted; the siren’s sound cannot be altered, so it is the same for everyone and is used as the official warning signal,» the statement reads.

Furthermore, the response noted that, due to martial law, it is also impossible to change the location of the sirens.

Following the response from the city authorities, Valerii Abramov proposed an alternative — to replace the current sirens with quieter models, if it is technically impossible to adjust the settings of the existing ones.

It should be noted that in the Mykolaiv region, air raid alerts were sounded 928 times between the start of 2025 and 30 December. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, sirens in the region have sounded 3,913 times.