How to check a bomb shelter?
Russian aggression puts civilians at risk. Therefore, it is important that there is a shelter near every house. The inspection of protective structures showed that not all of them are in good condition. Local governments should be responsible for the condition of shelters, whether they are closed or not, and respond to complaints from the public about their condition. There is a map of shelters where you can find a good shelter near your home that has been inspected. If the air raid alert is going on and the shelter is closed, you can contact the police.
How to check the shelter? Whom to contact if it doesn’t meet the standards? Ivanka Malchevska, coordinator of the OZON Public Monitoring Group, spoke about this.
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What is the real situation in Ukraine?
Initially, we started in seven cities of Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Cherkasy and Mykolaiv. In all of them, we detect a certain percentage of closed shelters. There is also a certain number of inaccessible shelters. They are located on the territory of closed residential complexes or have a fence around them. However, most of the shelters are open, accessible and in good condition. Our mission is global: to make sure that all shelters are accessible, open and of high quality.
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Your house doesn’t have an official bomb shelter, but it has an equipped basement. Can you hide there?
The global difference between the shelters marked on the relevant map and those that are not is that the former have been inspected by the responsible authorities. We are talking about the State Emergency Service.
These shelters were found to be safe. All the others have either not yet been inspected or have been found to be unsafe. Therefore, we recommend hiding in the shelters marked on the city map. Each city should have an online map of shelters. Local authorities are responsible for this.
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There is a bomb shelter on the territory of a closed residential complex. Does a person who doesn’t live in the housing estate have the right to be there?
A person who doesn’t live in the housing estate has the right to stay in the bomb shelter. Civil protection provides that any shelters must be accessible to all citizens of Ukraine. If you come, for example, from Lviv to Kyiv and the air raid alert starts, you have the right to take cover in any shelter in the capital. Even if this shelter is in a closed residential complex.
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Is it possible to contact you from any city in Ukraine?
We are trying to fight the problem of closed shelters. After all, they should be accessible to everyone. If a shelter is closed or you are not allowed in, take a photo/video of it and contact OZON. Together we will communicate with the authorities or law enforcement agencies. You can also record the violation yourself and call the police or contact local authorities. Namely, the municipal security department. You should explain the situation to them and ask if there is a solution.
