Kremlin orders overhaul of bomb shelters across Russia - media

That's according to The Moscow Times, which cites current and former officials, Ukrinform reports.

"A decision to inspect the network of bomb shelters was made by the government in the spring. The command for a large-scale inspection and to put things right was given by the Emergency Situations Ministry, the Defense Ministry and [other] civilian ministries," said one Russian official, citing knowledge of government meetings that have taken place on the subject.

Many of Russia's thousands of bunkers, reinforced cellars and other safe hideouts have been mothballed for decades. But as the war in Ukraine drags on, local authorities appear to be spending hundreds of millions of rubles to again make them fit for habitation.

While Russian officials have not publicly announced a national drive to upgrade bomb shelters, efforts by local authorities to overhaul the country's civil defense network have been widely reported for months. The Moscow Times spoke with four current and former Russian officials who confirmed — for the first time — that upgrades were taking place on orders from the government in Moscow. The checks and repairs began after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and will continue into this year

The existence of a directive from Moscow to upgrade bomb shelters was confirmed by a senior official in the administration of one of Russia's Far East regions.

"An order was given from Moscow to carry out these works everywhere — inspection and repair," said the official.

According to the news outlet, most of the country's bomb shelters have been left in a state of disrepair or abandoned since the end of the Soviet Union. "No one needed them [bomb shelters] after the collapse of the Soviet Union. But now, due to the situation on the frontlines, the Kremlin has ordered for everything to be sorted out," an official in one western Russian region said.