Kyiv authorities initiating changes to legislation on bomb shelters

The Kyiv City Military Administration will initiate a change to the legislation to prevent property developers from bypassing the requirements to equip residential buildings with bomb shelters.

According to Petro Panteleiev, the administration’s deputy head, the current legislation allows developers to either include bomb shelters in their construction projects or ensure one is nearby. “There should be no ‘or,’” said Panteleiev.

This legal gap has resulted in very few modern buildings in Kyiv having shelters inside them, the official said.

He added that the State Emergency Service and local self-government are cut out from the process of putting houses in use.

According to the Kyiv City Military Administration, 4,200 bomb shelters in the capital have been inspected as of June 9, and only 2,900 are suitable for use. Kyiv has a total of 4,600 bomb shelters.

Ukrainian authorities started a nationwide audit after two women and a nine-year-old child were killed by missile debris in Kyiv on June 1 as they couldn’t access the bomb shelter at a nearby clinic.

Civilian deaths in Kyiv spark outrage over closed bomb shelters

The case of the three victims of the June 1 missile strike in Kyiv, who died while trying to enter a closed air defense shelter has sparked anger from Ukrainian officials and the public.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk