Is Putin scared of Ukrainian bombs?

Putin’s war has finally made its way to the Russian home front. A leak from the Kremlin reveals that Russia’s regional governments are being ordered to conduct surveys of and update bomb shelters across the country. Speaking to the independent newspaper the Moscow Times, one Kremlin source said this audit had been going on since at least last spring.

Renovating Russia’s bomb shelters is, however, easier said than done. A relic of the Soviet Union, the country’s shelters were decommissioned in the 1990s, with many being leased or sold to the private sector and many more falling into disrepair. 

Now, local authorities are being asked to spend millions of roubles refurbishing them: updating ventilation systems, waterproofing and making sure they are stocked with supplies. In Krasnodar, south Russia, for example, the local newspaper reported that the city authorities plan to spend the equivalent of nearly £210,000 doing up 50 shelters this year.