Ingenious ways of protecting civilians from Russian bombs

Ukrainian city of Dnipro they are installing mobile bomb shelters. In the past week they have erected nine; they plan a total of 28. Dnipro is following the example of cities like Kharkiv, Odessa and Mykolaiv that have also suffered regular Russian bombardment since the start of the invasion. “We understand nowhere is safe in Ukraine,” says Dmitro Volyk, the city’s chief architect. The shelters are made of modular sections of thick concrete, and were developed in 2014 to reinforce trenches on the Donbas front. Originally designed to be half-buried and covered over with earth and branches, they are now being deployed on Ukrainian city streets so that people can take shelter during the frequent air-raid alerts. The sandy soil along Dnipro’s river banks makes excavating bunkers a tricky proposition; these shelters can be lifted into position in hours. The thick concrete walls won’t withstand a direct hit, says Mr Volyk, but they will protect against blast waves, shrapnel and flying glass. “They are tested in battle conditions.”