The numerous air raid shelters and shelters have been the salvation for many Ukrainians after neighboring Russia invaded the country in late February. As Russian bombs rained down on Ukrainian cities, the civilian population poured underground in search of shelter.
Such shelters, often located in schools, apartment buildings and subway stations, are common in all countries. However, in post-WWII Europe, and at least in the last three decades, much of this civil protection infrastructure has been neglected in the wake of peace and stability on the continent.
Russia has now turned all of this upside down. They also notice it themselves and therefore have now started an update of the bomb housings and their civil protection. Secretly.
Part of the Kremlin’s “expanding war effort”
American Bloomberg they spoke to several sources that Russian government employees are now checking air raid shelters and other protected facilities. They have initiated repairs and cleanups to ensure civil protection infrastructure is ready in the event of a major conflict, the newspaper’s sources say.
These bomb housings have not been used since the Soviet era.
This campaign is an example of how the invasion, now in its ninth month, is triggering a broader militarization of Russian society, Bloomberg writes.
The newspaper believes this is part of the Kremlin’s “expanding war effort”. But secret.
The rearmament campaign has not been officially announced, but according to Bloomberg sources, the Kremlin intervened after meeting the opposition of the population following the partial mobilization in September and October. The authorities will not take any chances with other war-related preparations.
Officials refuse
The rumor of the campaign still managed to spread and, among other things, it was leaked on social networks. Local officials denied that such a thing is taking place. Last month, the Russian health ministry also released a statement saying they were not installing operating theaters in air-raid shelters.
However, it was reported that the Russian people themselves became more aware. A Moscow real estate agent Bloomberg spoke to said that many of his clients have now started asking if there are any shelters in apartment buildings.
Russian authorities continue to describe the war as a special military operation against the Russian people and claim that it all comes down to an existential war between Russia and the United States.
