The government also plans to encourage citizens to fortify their basements for use as shelters, a spokesperson announced.
The German government is developing a registry of public buildings suitable for use as bomb shelters in the event of a large-scale conflict with Russia, according to an Interior Ministry spokesperson.
The spokesperson informed reporters on Monday that potential locations include subway stations, underground parking garages, and certain government buildings. The spokesperson added that citizens will be encouraged to adapt their basements and garages into personal shelters.
Once the list is finalized, a mobile application will guide citizens to their nearest designated shelter.
Although the spokesperson avoided mentioning the Ukraine conflict, the German tabloid Bild earlier reported that the expansion of Germany’s bunker network is a response to the perceived threat of war with Russia.
Germany retained over 2,000 bunkers following the Cold War; however, roughly three-quarters have since been decommissioned. Germany’s current network of 579 bunkers can accommodate approximately 480,000 people, a small fraction of Germany’s 84 million inhabitants, Reuters reported.
The official stated that the so-called “bunker plan” was approved in June. Monday’s press conference followed confirmations from the US and France authorizing Ukraine to use ATACMS and SCALP-EG missiles to strike targets within internationally recognized Russian territory.
The UK hasn’t publicly confirmed whether it has authorized Kyiv to use its Storm Shadow missiles (the British equivalent of the SCALP-EG), despite Ukrainian forces employing both ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles in attacks deep within Russian territory last week.
Kyiv has requested that Berlin provide German-made Taurus cruise missiles, mirroring Washington’s actions, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused, citing the risk of Germany becoming directly involved in a war with Russia.
Russia retaliated to last week’s ATACMS and Storm Shadow strikes by launching a new hypersonic ballistic missile – the nuclear-capable Oreshnik – targeting a Ukrainian military industrial facility in Dnepropetrovsk. In a Thursday evening address, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that further attacks on Russian soil would trigger retaliatory strikes on targets of Moscow’s choosing, potentially including military installations in countries supplying long-range weapons to Kyiv.