Most bomb shelters in Kyiv are not properly accessible, says minister
The majority of bomb shelters in the capital city of Kyiv are not properly accessible, being either closed or unfit for use Oleksandr Kamyshin, the Minister of Strategic Industries, reported on Telegram on June 7.
“We summed up the results of yesterday’s work by the commission for inspecting shelters in Kyiv for,” he said.
“I reported the interim results to the president during a conference call. A total of 3,382 facilities have been checked, which is 73% of the total number of shelters in Kyiv.”
The results show that 35% of those checked are unfit for use, while 65% are technically suitable, Kamyshin said.
“On the one hand, the technical suitability of the shelters gives us hope that putting them in order will give us a sufficient number of shelters for the city,” the minister said.
“However, the list of problems with technically suitable shelters remains significant.”
In general, the results of inspection are still deplorable, he added.
Civilians were killed in Kyiv’s Desnianskyi District during a Russian ballistic and cruise missile strike overnight on June 1 when they failed to gain access to a bomb shelter in the local children’s polyclinic. A 9-year-old girl and two women were hit by falling debris from a shot-down missile.
A criminal case was initiated over official negligence that led to grave consequences. Three officials and a security guard at the Kyiv medical facility were charged.
A Kyiv court put the head of the Desnianskyi District’s polyclinic and his tech deputy under house arrest, Suspilne TV reported on June 3.
At the same time, the court sent the security guard of the polyclinic to custody for two months without the right to post bail, Suspilne TV added on Telegram later. The suspect pleaded guilty, saying that it was unintentional, as he had lacked sufficient time to open the shelter after the air raid sirens had started to sound and before the incident.
In response to the situation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed Minister Kamyshin to conduct a comprehensive review of all protective structures in Kyiv and has tasked Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko with conducting a similar review throughout Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry conducted inspections of 50,195 (79%) shelters throughout the country as of the morning of June 5. Among them, 4,679 (9%) were found to be closed, while an additional 11,644 (23%) were deemed unfit for use.
In Kyiv alone, 2,156 (48%) shelters were checked, of which 137 (6%) were closed and 804 (37%) were not suitable for operation.
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