Kyiv, Ukraine. Residents in Kyiv’s Sviatoshynskyi district have called on authorities to open a bomb shelter that has been under preparation since 2023, as intensified Russian missile attacks increase demand for safe spaces.
Tetiana Lishchynska became emotional as dozens of residents gathered this month to press officials over delays to the shelter’s opening at a local school.
Delayed shelter
Lishchynska said she had to run with her four-year-old grandson to a clinic during a ballistic missile attack. The clinic, which has a basement, is about seven minutes from her home.
A ballistic missile can reach Kyiv in under three minutes, while Lishchynska said she could reach the school shelter in two minutes.
The shelter was expected to open last year but will not begin operating until September because utilities and paperwork have not been completed, officials said.
Growing concerns
Lishchynska said that during the attack she had to allow a neighbour to take her grandson and run ahead through the night because she could not keep up.
Russia killed 73 people in Kyiv in June and July during intensified attacks, according to the city’s military administration. Ukraine lacks the means to intercept the ballistic missiles used in the attacks.
Kyiv has 4,358 facilities available to shelter its three million residents, according to the city administration, although only about 500 are proper bomb shelters.
As more residents seek shelter, including some for the first time, concerns over the availability and condition of safe sites have intensified. Some residents have accused authorities of complacency, describing official calls to stay safe as hypocritical.