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Warsaw’s mayor on Wednesday announced a new plan to allocate 117 million zlotys (€27 million) to build bomb shelters and other security measures in the next two to three years.
The move comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been waging all-out war in neighboring Ukraine, boasted that he’s “ready” for nuclear war.
The bomb shelters are part of Warsaw’s strategy in the coming years to “make the most significant investments that will allow us to prepare for any eventuality,” Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski said.
A recent audit of bomb shelters in Poland revealed that fewer than 4 percent of the country’s population has access to protective spaces in the event of a bombardment. The report added that the shelters also lack basic regulations, technical features and equipment.
Underground parking lots and metro stations are among the locations in the city that have been proposed for use as bomb shelters. Altogether, 7 million square meters of space in Warsaw could be repurposed for shelters, the mayor said. When Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv used a similar tactic, sheltering 15,000 of its citizens in its 52-station metro system.
The new “Warsaw Protects” program would equip shelters with electricity and water. Trzaskowski also said part of the plan is to help hospitals prepare for danger and train citizens how to react in emergencies.
Meanwhile, other countries sharing borders with Ukraine have ramped up security since Putin’s all-out war began. After drone debris was found in Romania, the country began building bomb shelters near its border with Ukraine.
