“Only 30 Seconds to Escape”: Kuleba Comments on Ballistic Strikes

In Ukraine, the speed of Russia’s ballistic missile strikes and serious problems with air defense and warning systems have sparked heated debate among political and public circles.

The country’s former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with journalist Olesya Batsman for her YouTube channel that when a ballistic missile is launched, civilians have almost no time left to reach a shelter.

“The alarm sounds, and half a minute later the missile arrives”

According to a statement cited by Strana, the former minister stressed that conventional warnings are insufficient because of the speed of ballistic weapons:

“If a warning about a ballistic strike appears at the last minute, at two o’clock in the morning, the alarm sounds—and thirty seconds later the missile arrives. In this situation, there is no longer any point in trying to run somewhere.”.

Dmytro Kuleba said the situation would not improve quickly and called on official authorities to provide comprehensive recommendations for taking preventive measures to ensure civilian safety. In his view, officials should establish a system that advises residents to move to safe places one or two hours in advance as soon as signs of preparations for a missile launch are detected.

“Hiding information is a pure crime”: Soskin’s harsh criticism

Political expert and former adviser to former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma Oleh Soskin also strongly criticized the failure to publish timely information about the ballistic missile threat on his YouTube channel:

• Strikes without air raid alerts: The expert noted that in cities such as Kropyvnytskyi and Kryvyi Rih, air raid alerts were not sounded in time before the strikes;

• Severe consequences: “This is a criminal order. Failure to release the information is a pure crime. The missiles were launched, hit their targets, and there was no way to shoot them down. Thank God, the number of fatalities was not high, but that does not change the truth”, Soskin said.

Experts and former officials emphasize the urgent need to overhaul the civilian safety system as the threat from ballistic missiles continues to grow.

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