The move was announced by Oleksii Kuleba, the head of the regional military administration, Poland’s defence24.pl website reported.
Kuleba told Ukraine’s hromadske.ua website that over the coming two weeks, the shelters would be equipped with portable battery-powered radios, according to defence24.pl.
Preparing for the worst
Kuleba said, as cited by the Ukrainska Pravda website: “The past eight months have taught us that anything can happen and so my duty as a government official is to prepare for the worst-case scenario. However, I hope that nothing as major as a nuclear strike will happen."
He added that "the issue of nuclear shelters had been dormant for the past 30 years,” but "things changed" during the last five months and urged the Ukrainian people “not to treat the matter as merely a formality,” defence24.pl reported.
Radios for 425 shelters
Kuleba said in the interview: "There are 425 special shelters in Kyiv Oblast. They are located underground; each has two entrances and two exits, and a functioning ventilation system. In all, there are almost 1,000 shelters in Kyiv Oblast.”
He added that, in the event of a nuclear strike, people gathered in bomb shelters must have means of communication.
“It is likely that if a nuclear strike takes place, there will be no phone service," Kuleba also said. "The only thing that will keep working is the radio."
“That’s why portable battery-powered radios must be made available ... because access to information will be essential," Kuleba told hromadske.eu.
"This will allow people to find out how to proceed," he added, announcing that the shelters would be equipped with radios “by November 15.”
Hotlines, radio announcements, loudspeakers
Kuleba said that, "in case of a nuclear attack," the Ukrainian government would use “every means of distributing information at its disposal, from official hotlines to radio and loudspeakers.”
In particular, “cars fitted out with loudspeakers will drive around, providing information to local residents” as part of an effort led by the State Emergency Service and the police, Kuleba added, as cited by defence24.pl.
Wednesday is day 252 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
pm/gs
Source: defence24.pl, pravda.com.ua
