Russia bolsters Kursk safety with concrete shelters amid tensions
6:53 AM EDT, August 23, 2024
Russian authorities have taken steps to improve the safety of Kursk residents by beginning the installation of reinforced concrete bus shelters. According to official information, these structures are meant to protect the population in case of threats from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The construction of shelters and bus stops in Kursk, and other Russian cities in the region is a response to the intense actions conducted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this area. Since August 6, the Ukrainian army has been regularly conducting assaults, capturing more settlements. Currently, the farthest units are fighting for towns such as Koronevo and Komarovka.
As reported by the independent Russian portal Meduza, although military actions do not directly threaten the largest cities in the region, Rylsk, and Kursk, the situation for Russians is steadily worsening as the Ukrainian offensive progresses.
In response to these events, Russian authorities began installing reinforced concrete shelters in places of mass gatherings in Kursk. This was confirmed by the head of the region, Alexei Smirnov, on his Telegram channel on August 22. Smirnov informed that in Kursk, such "modular concrete shelters would be installed at 60 major bus stops."
Russians are setting up reinforced concrete shelters
The portal meduza.io reports that similar shelters will also appear in Zheleznogorsk and Kurchatov, where the Kursk nuclear power plant is located. Authorities are also considering installing such shelters in other towns in the region.
In the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian offensive is ongoing, SMS alerts warning of threats from missile and drone attacks have been stopped. This information is now only available on government Telegram channels and in the "Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations" application.
It is worth noting that at the beginning of 2024, in response to shelling from Ukraine, similar "modular reinforced concrete structures with double reinforcement," resembling shelters in Kursk, were installed in Belgorod. The cost of installing one such shelter in Belgorod was 300,000 rubles (around $2,700).
