A recent audit of bomb shelters in Ukraine prompted by the deaths of three people locked out of a shelter during a Russian air raid uncovered an “unacceptable” situation, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said, and resulted in disciplinary action for many local leaders.
The inspection found that only 15 percent of Kyiv's 4,655 bomb shelters were suitable for use and only 44 percent were freely accessible.
Though the audit also found that across the country 77 percent of shelters are suitable for use, the situation with shelters is “unacceptable” in a number of districts in four regions and Kyiv, Shmyhal said. He cited a number of districts in the Zaporizhzhya, Sumy, Zhytomyr, and Kyiv regions as well as the city of Kyiv as the focus of the problem.
Following the audit results, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed seven district heads and reprimanded many other officials, including Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko; Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration; and the heads of six local administrations in Kyiv.
There had been speculation that Klitschko would also be dismissed. In a statement to RFE/RL, Klitschko accepted some “moral responsibility” for the June 1 incident but noted that the blame was to be shared among the district officials as well. It is not immediately clear whether the mayor will face any further disciplinary action.
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'Disbelief' Over Slew Of Closed Kyiv Bomb Shelters
Zelenskiy ordered the inspection of all Ukrainian shelters on June 2, one day after three people were killed in Kyiv when they were unable to access a shelter during a Russian air strike. Two women and one girl were killed by falling debris after rushing to the shelter and finding it locked. Eleven other people were injured in the incident.
According to reports from eyewitnesses, the three people died on the street near a medical facility in Kyiv’s Desnyansk district because they could not get to the shelter, which, according to some reports, was closed.
Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister of strategic studies, was appointed to lead the audit, and called the results of the inspection “disappointing.” Kamyshin has additionally been put in charge of all future issues related to bomb shelters.