Ukraine’s underground metro stations double as bomb shelters amid Russian invasion
People in Ukraine's capital Kyiv are fleeing and taking refuge in the city’s underground metro stations amid a Russian invasion.
Soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, explosions were heard in various parts of the country, including capital Kyiv. Missiles were seen whizzing past and air raid sirens were sounded.
Despite Russia’s assurances that it was targeting military installations and not civilians, there is a clear and present threat to Ukrainian lives. In this moment of danger, people in Kyiv are fleeing and taking shelter in the city’s underground metro stations.
This is because Kyiv’s extensive subway system doubles as bomb shelters. It is the oldest and largest underground network in the eastern European country.
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As martial law was imposed in the face of a Russian offensive, people in Kyiv were seen heading to underground metro stations, reported Agence France Presse.
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Earlier this month, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko had said the city had prepared to provide shelter to people in the underground metro stations in the event of a Russian invasion.
“The key bomb shelter in the city of Kyiv will also be the Kyiv subway, which, in the event of — God forbid — zero hour, will be ready to accommodate people who can take shelter in case of a possible attack," Vitali Klitschko had said at the time in an interview.
Many civilians, including schoolchildren, were given training drills on where to go in case of a bombing. For many, it was a subway station.
"In Kyiv, subways have double meaning — they're a metro, but they're also a bomb shelter. So they were teaching and training (the children) how to go outside the school without panic, so it's properly organized," a Kyiv resident told Today.com.
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