A week after giving the go-ahead to long-range missile strikes from inside its territory and changing the Kremlin’s defense doctrine, which brings the risk of a nuclear apocalypse closer, Moscow has announced with drumbeats the massive construction of mobile shelters that are supposed to that they offer security even against attacks with nuclear weapons.
Coupled with the “testing” of the new, “invincible” Oresnik missile in combat conditions over the heads of Ukrainians in the city of Dnipro, the announcement of the new shelters completes the picture of a Russia preparing for the final showdown with the West, with whatever cost, even with nuclear holocaust.
At the same time in Northern Europe, governments are upgrading civil protection plans and preparing their people for any eventuality, while helping to cultivate a climate of fear reminiscent of the darkest days of the Cold War.
Functional for 48 hours
The Ministry of Civil Protection and Emergencies of Russia presented the mobile shelter “KUB-M” claiming that it provides protection from the shock wave and radiation caused by a nuclear explosion, from bomb fragments, from chemical weapons. The shelter looks like a reinforced shipping container and consists of two units – a room with a capacity of 54 people and a technical section with air filters, toilets and a diesel-powered generator. Two more containers can be added to the system, increasing the capacity up to 150 people.
However, the shelter is operational for 48 hours, i.e. only for the first two days after a nuclear explosion. Then the survivors will have to find a way to survive in a world very different from today. The mobile shelters are easily transported by truck or train, and the cost of each unit is estimated at 38 million rubles (about $380,000). Western experts express serious doubts about the effectiveness of these shelters in conditions of nuclear war. They consider their mass construction announcements to be more propaganda than substance and liken them to “Potemkin villages”, i.e. fake constructions to impress.
Under the pressure of Western sanctions and to meet its needs in war material, Russia has militarized its economy, while in Moscow and other large cities the subway has been designed in such a way that it also functions as a shelter.
Instructions to citizens
involved in the war in Ukraine has increased concerns about the generalization of the conflict on European soil. Before things took this dramatic turn, the Nordic countries saw fit to issue updated instructions to their citizens in case of war, extreme weather and pandemics.
Since mid-November, a pamphlet entitled “If a crisis or war comes” has been distributed to millions of households, recommending that citizens have three days’ worth of water and food. The list includes canned goods, pasta, potatoes, carrots, iodine tablets (for radioactivity), lenses, etc.
In , which has the longest land border with Russia of any European country and has nuclear shelters for the entire population, authorities encourage men and women to participate in survival and shooting training programs. The updated instructions were sent to citizens not in leaflets, but only in electronic form, urging them to be prepared for extended power outages.
She also chose the digital route with instructions for food, other necessities and iodine tablets for three days. In Norway survival guidelines provide for food, medicine and water for at least a week.
so citizens can quickly find them using an app on mobile phones. At the same time, incentives are given for the conversion of warehouses and garages into shelters. According to the German press, a secret plan is also being drawn up to deal with a Russian attack, which envisages the cooperation of private sector companies in crisis management, the production and transport of supplies and troops.
Taking a step further his military leader, Rob Bauerurged Western businesses to prepare for war scenarios and adjust production and distribution lines accordingly, saying the risks come not only from Russia but also from . Businessmen in Europe and America must realize that the commercial decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their countries, the Dutch admiral said, pointing out that “The military may win the battles, but the economies win the wars.”
The symbolic Doomsday Clock, by which atomic scientists warn of the danger of nuclear holocaust, is 90 seconds before midnight, the closest to the time of doom since it was created in 1947. Unless the crisis defuses by next January, it is expected that the minute hand will move even closer to zero time.
Putin threatens and “bets” on Trump for a solution
«Dwe do not exclude the use of the Oresnik missile against the decision-making centers in Kyiv” warned the Russian president Vladimir Putinthreatening to target the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as long-range Western missile attacks on Russian territory escalate. It is not the first time that Putin has threatened to destroy the Ukrainian leadership, but the threats were accompanied by positive words for the newly elected American president Donald Trump. It is clear that Putin is banking on Trump for a bilateral Ukrainian settlement that would lead to a ceasefire after nearly three years of war and maintain control over Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
“I think (Trump) is not safe. Unfortunately, several events have occurred in US history. He’s smart, I hope he’s careful and understands what that means.” Putin said, while estimating that the outgoing president is trying at the end of his term to create fait accompli at the expense of Russia, either to make it difficult for his successor or to strengthen his negotiating papers. Trump anyway “will find the solution” and , the Russian president added.
As for Kiev, Putin claimed that he could bombard the seat of the Ukrainian government with the “invincible” hypersonic Oresnik medium-range missiles. Multiple hits on the same spot with conventional warheads would have effects similar to falling meteorites, he added.
Zelensky’s adviser Mihailo Podoliak he responded that the Russian president is ignorant of military matters and argued that Kiev’s air defenses could intercept the missiles as it did with the Kinzhal, another weapon that Putin championed until it was countered by the US Patriot anti-ballistic system.
Zelensky, in an interview with Sky News late on Friday, appeared for the first time to accept that part of eastern Ukraine will be temporarily left out of the deal, suggesting that the rest of the country should join the NATO umbrella and .
The retired lieutenant general
After winning the election, Trump has not gone back on the claim that he could end the war in Ukraine in a day. But he chose as his special envoy for Ukraine and Russia the 80-year-old retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogga veteran of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars.
Kellogg has served as a National Security Council official in the previous Trump administration. “Together we will secure peace through strength and make America and the world safe again” Trump said. Kellogg had been warning since the summer that “Unless the Ukrainians sit at the table, American aid will dry up, and if Putin refuses to sit at the table, then the US will give the Ukrainians everything they need to kill the Russians on the battlefield.”
Ukraine’s electricity generation and distribution network has been the target of massive Russian missile and drone strikes over the past week, but the Kremlin’s ultimate goal is to dampen Ukrainian morale as winter shows its teeth and is predicted to be from the worst in recent years.
Having regained the initiative of movements on the eastern front, the Russian army is slowly gaining ground paying a heavy toll in blood for every meter of land while the Ukrainian army shows signs of exhaustion and has suffered losses that are difficult to replace.
