‘These are pre-emptive efforts’: Interactive bomb shelter map in the works in Russia’s Belgorod

Plans are underway to roll out an interactive bomb shelter map in Russia’s Belgorod, while street signs will be placed all over the city, indicating the nearest shelters, First Deputy Mayor Valentin Demidov said on VK, a Russian social media platform.

These steps are taken as part of creating an “integrated shelter network” in the regional capital: “We went through all rooms in blocks of flats and commercial buildings which can serve as temporary shelters in case of danger. <…> As a result, we will have an integrated shelter network in Belgorod. These are pre-emptive efforts,” Demidov said.

Villages in the Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions located on the Russian-Ukrainian border have been regularly targeted by shelling after Russia’s invasion in Ukraine began.

On 22 October, authorities began erecting defence structures, particularly Czech hedgehogs, in the Belgorod region.