The citizens of Ukraine are counting on a secret tool that allows them to be informed, not only of the latest information on the war, but also to receive warnings, in real time, and before any anti-aircraft siren, through an application that we all have , and it is not WhatsApp.
In Ukraine, air raid alerts are very common, but these alerts do not give more information than an imminent attack, but it is unknown what type of attack it is, at what distance or if they are missiles or kamikaze drones.
Now the citizenry is using telegram channels that are dedicated to acting as air raid alarms, but with more detailed information, and that are carried by very few people.
And one of these Telegram channels, Monitor, with more than 200,000 subscribers, has told kyivpost that “when air alarms sounded almost every three hours and shock waves from explosions shook houses, it was extremely difficult for ordinary citizens to understand what kind of missiles they were, where they were flying from”.
So she decided to do something about it and created a channel on the application of Telegram in April last year, which has since become a valuable public service, enabling people to make more informed decisions about Russian attacks.
The channels Both Telegram and Monitor follow war activity, even reporting before the sirens themselves go off, giving people a few extra seconds to stay safe.
“The most difficult periods were the bombings in spring and summer. Sometimes only a few hours passed between combat sorties by Russian planes. Therefore, after the explosions were already heard throughout the country, I realized that I had a certain amount of time to rest.”, says Monitor.
“It’s easier now, because the Russians have fewer stocks of cruise missiles, so rocket attacks are pretty predictable to me, going from two weeks to a month between them.“, Add.
In order to provide this information before even the air raid sirens go off, it gets that much information from social media, but it also monitors 2-10 airwaves on various radio stations from morning to night, and still receives messages. from operational sources.
So in the end your channel Telegram or Telegram Web has become a kind of public tool that provides information almost 24 hours a day about air alerts, bombing flights, missile launches, drone strikes, explosions and much more.
Another channel that reports in real time
Another of these Telegram channels or Telegram Websitethe one known as Nikolaev Vanek, has more than 400,000 followers, and in addition to providing information on airstrikes, he also provides details of frontline operations and some event analysis.
“You can name a special service or a military formation in Ukraine that is participating in the war and I cooperate with all of them.”, affirms its creator to the Kyiv Post.
Like Monitor, the channel is practically run by one person, although volunteers also help when required.
In this way, messaging applications such as Telegram or perhaps in the future WhatsApp can serve to save many lives in these conflicts.