Kyiv will begin phasing in an "All Red" traffic light mode from September 15, stopping road traffic across the city center during the national daily minute of silence at 9am, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration said.
At 9:00, traffic lights within the covered zone will simultaneously switch to red for all road users at once, including cars, pedestrians and cyclists, the administration said. A notification system will broadcast a message announcing the start of the minute of silence and counting down its duration. At 9:01, the lights will return to their normal operating mode.
Ground public transport will also come to a stop during the minute of silence, according to the announcement.
Exceptions for air raids and emergency vehicles
The "All Red" mode will not be applied during air raid alerts, when traffic lights will continue to work as normal, the city administration said. It added that the mode also does not restrict the movement of emergency and special vehicles carrying out urgent tasks with their lights and sirens switched on.
First stage covers 18 intersections
In its first stage, the mode will operate at 18 traffic lights in the central part of the capital. These include Ukrainian Heroes Square, European Square, Taras Shevchenko Boulevard and Bessarabsky Proizd, as well as Khreshchatyk, Basseina, Velyka Vasylkivska, Yevhen Chykalenko, Volodymyrska and Prorizna streets, the administration said. It will later be extended to other areas depending on technical capabilities.
A daily ritual introduced during the war
Ukraine has observed a national minute of silence at 9am every day to honor the memory of those killed as a result of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. The practice was introduced by a decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2022.
On February 11, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, enshrined the daily 9am national minute of silence in law.
Since July 2025, the "Air Alert" mobile app has reminded users of the 9am minute of silence. In May, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed the use of notification systems for announcements honoring the memory of the dead, including the minute of silence.
