Germany is drawing up a list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter for civilians, the interior minister said, amid heightened tensions with Russia.
Germany is preparing for war. The list would include railway stations and underground car parks, as well as state buildings and private properties, a ministry spokesman said.
A digital register of bunkers and emergency shelters will be developed so people can quickly find them using a planned phone app. People will also be encouraged to create shelters in their homes by converting basements and garages, the spokesman told a news conference.
He declined to give a timetable, saying it was a large-scale project that would take some time, involving the Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance and other authorities.
The country of 84 million people has 579 bunkers, mostly from World War II and the Cold War era, which can shelter 480,000 people, up from about 2,000 previously.
The spokesman said the key points of the plan were agreed at a conference of senior officials in June and that a task force was reviewing it.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concerns have grown about Moscow’s potential to target NATO members. In October, German intelligence chiefs warned that Russia would likely be able to launch an attack on the military alliance by 2030.
German officials say the country is already experiencing a sharp increase in Russian espionage and sabotage activities. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the conflict in Ukraine has the characteristics of a “global” war and that he does not rule out attacks on Western countries, reports The Guardian.
Source: www.doctorulzilei.ro
