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<p>Every time Russian aviation is in the air, people in Ukraine know about it from alarm systems—analogue sirens on the streets and mobile apps. Nevertheless, to learn more details about threats, people often turn to social media: there, they learn how many drones are in the air, how they are moving in real time, and whether there is any danger of ballistic missiles. This study explores Telegram channels that monitor and facilitate air threats to civilians in real time during attacks on Ukraine. Analysing 25 Telegram air monitoring channels that together generated 893,472 posts in 2&#xa0;years, the study combines digital ethnographic observation with network analysis to map channels’ communication ecosystem. Drawing on mediatisation theory, the findings reveal that channel identity (whether official military, OSINT investigator, or anonymous activist) shapes how raw military data are translated into emotional framing and civilian situational awareness, constructing a digital coping space in a war-torn country. At the same time, network analysis shows that channels operate as structurally independent broadcast hubs: despite sharing a common civic identity, they exhibit near-zero temporal coordination even under real attack pressure. Crucially, independent activist channels initiate the majority of first-move alerts, while the official Air Force channel ranks 14th in speed, pointing to a polycentric mediatisation model in which the state’s traditional monopoly over life-saving data has been displaced by a decentralised civilian ecosystem.</p>

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When the drone is coming to you: analysis of Telegram channels that monitor air threats in Ukraine during wartime

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月28日

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  • Kateryna Bystrytska

摘要

Every time Russian aviation is in the air, people in Ukraine know about it from alarm systems—analogue sirens on the streets and mobile apps. Nevertheless, to learn more details about threats, people often turn to social media: there, they learn how many drones are in the air, how they are moving in real time, and whether there is any danger of ballistic missiles. This study explores Telegram channels that monitor and facilitate air threats to civilians in real time during attacks on Ukraine. Analysing 25 Telegram air monitoring channels that together generated 893,472 posts in 2 years, the study combines digital ethnographic observation with network analysis to map channels’ communication ecosystem. Drawing on mediatisation theory, the findings reveal that channel identity (whether official military, OSINT investigator, or anonymous activist) shapes how raw military data are translated into emotional framing and civilian situational awareness, constructing a digital coping space in a war-torn country. At the same time, network analysis shows that channels operate as structurally independent broadcast hubs: despite sharing a common civic identity, they exhibit near-zero temporal coordination even under real attack pressure. Crucially, independent activist channels initiate the majority of first-move alerts, while the official Air Force channel ranks 14th in speed, pointing to a polycentric mediatisation model in which the state’s traditional monopoly over life-saving data has been displaced by a decentralised civilian ecosystem.