Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on June 3 that law enforcement checked over 4,800 bomb shelters across Ukraine, and about 20% proved to be unsuitable for use.
Of the over 4,800 bomb shelters, 252 were closed, and 893 were "unsuitable for use," according to Klymenko.
Law enforcement's report about the conditions of bomb shelters comes a few days after a deadly incident in which a group of civilians couldn't get inside a shelter in Kyiv during an overnight Russian missile strike.
Three people – including a mother and her nine-year-old daughter – were killed while trying to enter a locked nearby shelter in the early hours of June 1.
The husband of another woman killed by missile debris told reporters that his wife was trying to get into a shelter in a medical facility, which turned out to be closed.
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the responsibility lies with the head of the medical facility and the Desnianskyi district head, Dmytro Ratnikov, suggesting they should be removed from their posts.
Both the Interior Ministry and the mayor have already promised regular police checks of the city’s shelters to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Klymenko said in the June 3 statement shared by the Interior Ministry that the authorities would continue such checks of bomb shelters in the future.
Alexander Khrebet
(Updated: )
