Putin rushes to construct exclusive bunker in Moscow.

Russian Elites Build Bomb Shelter Amid Drone Attacks and Cross-Border Raids

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s staff has commissioned the construction of a large bomb shelter in Moscow amid a series of startling drone attacks near the capital and cross-border raids from Ukraine.

The Moscow Times reported Friday that the Kremlin has signed a procurement contract for the construction of an 800-person bunker for VIP patients and personnel at the Moscow Central Clinical Hospital. The bunker is expected to be completed by December 20, 2021, and will serve as a “civil defense protective structure.”

Preparing for Intense Assaults

The recent drone attacks and cross-border raids from Ukraine have left Russian elites feeling vulnerable. While Putin maintains that Russia will eventually emerge victorious, the bomb shelter plan suggests that the sense of vulnerability could continue for months at least.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes to begin a counter-offensive that will drive Russia out of his country. “The main thing is that Russia sees it, and not only it sees it, but it also feels it,” he said. “And we are first of all talking about those troops that occupied our territory.”

Protecting from Blast Waves and Radiation

The bomb shelter is expected to protect from both a powerful blast wave and radiation within a 10-kilometer zone. It will have several entrances and an emergency exit, main and auxiliary rooms, as well as a sophisticated ventilation and heating system to purify the air from “gaseous means of mass destruction” and to allow “wartime medical procedures.”

A Difficult Project

The recent breaches of Russian security have embarrassed the government and prompted a series of retaliatory threats. Kremlin Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said, “It is necessary to destroy the hornets’ nest itself, the regime that emerged in Ukraine. It must be exterminated, it must be destroyed.”

However, other Kremlin allies have conceded the difficulty of the project after more than a year of fighting since Putin launched the campaign to overthrow the Ukrainian government. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said, “Perhaps our only mistake is not having solved this issue in 2014-15, before Ukraine had an army or was prepared.”