Why Germany Is Sounding Sirens Nationwide – Why Ukrainians React Differently

Germany conducted a nationwide emergency warning drill on Thursday, Sept. 10, with millions of residents receiving test alerts on their phones and sirens sounding across cities as authorities checked the country’s crisis and disaster warning systems. The nationwide warning day, known as Warntag, is the sixth event of its scale. According to open sources, the exercise is held annually on the second Thursday of September and is organized by the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) together with the interior ministries of Germany’s states.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. At 11 a.m. German time (12 p.m. in Kyiv), the BBK sent a test warning through the Federal Modular Warning System, known as MoWaS. The alert was automatically distributed through all connected channels, including radio, television, digital billboards, warning applications, and mobile communications. Under the exercise plan, millions of people across Germany were expected to receive the message simultaneously, regardless of where they were in the country. The warning system operates through several independent channels at once: Cell Broadcast technology sends an audible alert directly to smartphones without requiring users to install anything in advance; Notifications are sent through the NINA and KATWARN apps if they are installed and configured for the relevant location; Sirens and vehicles equipped with loudspeakers are used in some areas, although not every municipality has the technical capability to activate them; Radio and television broadcasts, as well as digital information boards in public spaces, also carry the warning. At 11:45 a.m. local time, the systems transmitted an all-clear signal indicating that the test had ended and there was no actual danger. The BBK is also conducting an online survey from Sept. 10-17, asking participants whether they received the warning and through which channel. The data will be used to assess and further improve the country’s warning system. Other Topics of Interest Russia Sets Eye on Zaporizhzhia's Orikhiv With 150,000-Troop Formations The troop numbers, if accurate, are comparable to the entirety of Russia’s 2022 invasion forces. Ukrainian Telegram channels speculate about war Meanwhile, speculative posts appeared on Ukrainian Telegram channels portraying the exercise as a sign that Germany was preparing for war. “The Germans are preparing for the start of war: the country’s residents are now receiving notifications urging them to urgently take shelter, sirens are also wailing in cities. This is currently a test check,” one such message said. Kyiv Post spoke to Tetyana, a Ukrainian citizen who left Ukraine a few months after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and has lived in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state over four years, about her experience of the drill.“The sound signal on the phone is quite loud. Plus, sirens are turned on around the city. We personally have not received any information about people going down to shelters or bunkers, etc.,” she said.“The Germans are reacting to this absolutely normally. They treat it as a preventive security measure.”However, Tetyana said the experience was different for many Ukrainians living in Germany, who can associate warning sirens with their experiences of Russia’s war against Ukraine.“From what I heard when talking to Ukrainians, it is a bit of a traumatic story. I myself do not really perceive it either. I understand in my head that nothing happened and that these are just training measures. But nevertheless, the body still turns on to it,” she said.“Probably, we all have this post-traumatic syndrome in connection with the war in Ukraine.”Tetyana said the German public’s attitude toward military preparedness had also changed during the four and a half years she has lived in the country.“In this regard, if many previously said that we have nothing to worry about and the war will not affect us in any way, then over the past year a very active campaign has been conducted to involve people in the Bundeswehr – the German army.”Tetyana said some Germans were now openly discussing the possibility of a military scenario.“And many are already openly saying that Germany is now mobilizing its forces a little and preparing for the fact that a military scenario is still possible. But, of course, there is no information about this in open sources yet,” she said.“All these conversations have now intensified against the background of the elections in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the pro-Russian party Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the vast majority of votes,” Tetyana added.She also said military exercises appeared to have become more frequent in her area.“Another interesting moment is that there are also periodic trainings of military equipment. There is an airfield relatively close to us in the city and we can watch military aircraft being [flown] around. Which did not happen with such frequency before,” Tetyana said.“That is, they also sometimes conducted trainings, but now it has become more frequent.” Julia is a Deputy Head of News and correspondent for Kyiv Post who has previously worked as a parliamentary editor, journalist, and news editor. She has specialized in covering the work of the Ukrainian parliament, government, and law enforcement agencies.