The German Interior Ministry announced in a press briefing held Monday, November 24 that all buildings that could serve as shelter in the event of an attack are being inventoried to make them accessible to the population. The country currently has 579 bunkers.
Faced with the threat of war spreading across the European continent, Germany seeks to ensure its security. This Monday, November 24, the government announced that it was in the process of listing bunkers and shelters where the population could find refuge in the event of an attack, with the intention of increasing their number in view of the increase in tensions with the Russia. “All buildings – including private property – which could serve as shelter, such as cellars, garages and metro stations” are being inventoried, declared a spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry during a press briefing in Berlin.
“A digital directory of all bunkers will be established so that people can quickly find them using their mobile phones”he added while presenting the plan, that the tabloid Bildfirst edition from Germany, already nicknamed «Offensive bunker». He specified that this inventory “will take time”without giving a timetable. Citizens will also be encouraged to create shelters in their homes, by converting their cellars or garages.
In Sweden, the modernization of 65,000 shelters launched
Germany currently has 579 bunkers, mostly dating from World War II and the Cold War era, which can house 480,000 people. But the authorities stopped maintaining them in 2007, due to the changing security situation after the end of the Cold War. For its part, Sweden is also preparing for a potential war, with authorities stepping up the modernization of 65,000 shelters across the country.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, the German authorities have stopped the sale of fortified works in their possession. More than 300 bunkers had been sold by the State and its administrations since 2005.
Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated that the conflict in Ukraine now had all the makings of a war “world” and warned that he did not rule out striking Western countries, reinforcing concern among NATO members, particularly those close to Russia, such as the Baltic countries, Poland, but also Germany. These threats came after Russia's use on Ukrainian territory of an intermediate-range ballistic missile (up to 5,500 km), designed to carry a nuclear warhead.
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