In fear, old bunkers prepped in Kyiv

Evhen Herasimov unlocks the bolts and latches on a metal door of a Soviet-era building in a courtyard in Kyiv and leads the way down a flight of stairs. At the bottom is a relic of a bygone time: a Cold War-era bunker capable of withstanding a nuclear strike.

For years the shelter was little more than a curiosity to show tourists, but amid the growing threat of war with Russia, it has been given a facelift and is once again ready for action.

Designed to house 350 people, the bunker’s mustard-coloured walls gleam with fresh paint. Ten bunk beds have been installed as well as an autonomous air-purification system that could sustain life for two weeks.

There are even new gas masks in wooden boxes in the corner — but Herasimov, who manages nearly 400 emergency shelters in his neighbourhood, keeps them under seal.

“We’ve been working to refurbish emergency shelters: give them a fresh coat of paint, clean up, deal with mould because it’s probably the first time we’re facing an external threat — from Russia,” Herasimov told The Sunday Telegraph. The flurry of action comes as Moscow has massed more than 100,000 troops and weaponry near Ukraine’s border and made veiled threats to invade. Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, said that Russia was “waging a disinformation campaign intended to destabilise and justify an invasion” of Ukraine. “Russia must halt its aggression, deescalate and engage in meaningful talks,” she said.

Last month, the mayor of Kyiv issued a decree to inspect, catalogue and fix all Cold War-era bunkers and any underground premises that could serve as emergency shelters in case of a Russian invasion.

Kyiv now runs 500 fully equipped bomb shelters, along with more than 4000 underground safety facilities, ranging from basements to parking lots that can protect people in the event of an air raid or any attack on the capital.

There is enough room for more than 2.8 million people, roughly the population of Kyiv, according to the City Hall.

Diplomats from Moscow held three rounds of talks with officials from the US, Nato and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe aimed at de-escalating the situation. But they ended, according to Russia’s lead negotiator, in “sort of a dead end”.

The US has accused Moscow of positioning saboteurs to carry out a “false-flag” operation in the country’s east. — Telegraph Group Ltd