The Polish capital Warsaw will spend 117 million zlotys (30 million US dollars, 27 million euros) on bomb shelters and other security measures over the next two to three years as the war in neighbouring Ukraine continues into its third year, the city’s mayor said on Wednesday, the 13th of March, reports Reuters.
Although Poland is a NATO member and its membership guarantees security against Russian attacks, the war across the border has led it to brace for possible strikes.
“On our own initiative, we carried out an inventory of bomb shelters,” Rafal Trzaskowski was quoted as saying at a press conference after Poland’s Supreme Audit Office published a report on bomb shelters in the country.
According to the fire service, less than 4% of the population can count on a place
where they can shelter, the audit said, and also found a lack of basic rules for shelters, including what equipment and technical features are needed for such constructions.
Warsaw has around seven million square metres of space that could be used as shelters, the mayor said, namely underground car parks and metro stations.
“117 million (zloty) to improve security – funds for the next two to three years, and we are ready to allocate more money for this purpose,” Trzaskowski said.
He said hospitals would be prepared for threats and the public would be educated on how to deal with emergencies.
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