Google will send air raid alerts to Android phones in Ukraine

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The air raid alert will be sent directly to the phones of users in Ukraine. The company said in an updated post that it is working with the Ukrainian government to roll out an alert system for Android phones. The feature was spotted by a developer.

Millions of people in Ukraine rely on air strike alert to try to get to safety, according to the announcement. Dave Burke, vice president of engineering for the company, said that the system for quickly sending warnings about earthquakes was built for Android.

The Ukrainian Alarm app, which sends air raid notifications to Ukrainians in regions with active alert, has already been highlighted by the search engine. Burke says that the new alert system will be available to all phones in Ukraine in the coming days.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has led to a scaling back of the company's presence in Russia.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is both a tragedy and a humanitarian disaster in the making, according to a post on March 1st. The company said it was working to support people in Ukraine through its products, defend against cyberattacks, surface high-quality, reliable information and ensure the safety and security of its colleagues and their families in the region.