Russian MPs Demand Reopening Of Bomb Shelters To Protect Public From War

Communist MPs in Russia have demanded the government refurbish and reopen public bomb shelters as a result of the Ukraine crisis. Valery Rashkin and Sergei Obukhov’s demands were reported today on the Echo of Moscow radio station.

The pair have asked for the Ministry of Emergency Situations to immediately check all bomb shelters in the country. They also want them to be brought back into a state of full readiness for war or any other crisis.

Rashkin and Obukhov have complained the bomb shelters are in a poor state of repair and would not be sufficient to protect the public should bombs start dropping. Their intervention is thought to be as a result of concerns about a full-scale European war rather than an attack from Ukraine itself.

But they have asked for particular attention to be paid to shelters in key strategic locations in like Sevastopol, Crimea. The port on the Black Sea has been the centre of tensions between Moscow and Kiev, since the crisis flared up between the two earlier this year.

Sergei Obukhov explained that in additional to helping protect the Russian public in the event of the Ukraine situation escalating, the shelters would be useful in a range of scenarios. He said: “You never know what can happen? An Asteroid could fall, or something else. The bomb shelters in this country are in an ugly state.”

Opening the shelters is likely to be viewed across the world as an example of Russia preparing for war. The two MPs involved are well known for their hard-line stance against the West and have previously demanded America classify certain groups in Ukraine as terrorists.