Russia quietly upgrades bomb shelters in Moscow and St Petersburg amid Ukrainian drone strikes

Russia is quietly modernising bomb shelters in Moscow and St Petersburg, with procurement data showing tens of millions of roubles being allocated for repairs that have not been publicly announced, as Ukrainian drones intensify strikes on Russian territory.

State procurement records, reported by Russian independent media, show 39 million roubles (€400,000) allocated in early September to restore nine facilities in three districts of Moscow's South-West administrative region, an area home to dozens of research institutes and defence contractors.

Work is due to be completed by 30 November and covers entrances, internal partitions, doors and utility systems including water, electricity, sewage, ventilation and communications.

Further funds have been earmarked for shelters in Moscow's eastern Novogireyevo district, and a major overhaul is planned in New Moscow for a shelter built in 1971 that includes its own diesel power station.

Tenders worth 200 million roubles (€2 million) were published at the start of summer for repairs to shelters in 17 districts, mainly in Moscow's eastern region.

In St Petersburg, the metro operator published a contractor search in early September to build bomb shelters at nine stations, four compartments and 35 kilometres of track.

The project involves large-scale adaptation of both operating and unfinished stations to civil defence requirements, including air filtration and pressurised air supply systems.

'End war, choose peace'

The Kremlin has increasingly felt the heat of Ukraine's strikes on its energy and business sectors, in Kyiv's ongoing bid to strip Russia's war machine of as much funding as possible.

On Sunday night, Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow refinery in Kapotnya, halting operations due to fires at primary oil processing units, according to reports.

In August, Ukrainian rocket developer FirePoint and former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the Ukrainian armed forces could begin striking Moscow with new ballistic missiles by the end of the year.

"Moscow should not be building layered rings of air defence at the expense of other regions, but ending its brutal war and choosing peace," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"There are steps for de-escalation on the table: in energy, in food security. What is needed is political will."

Moscow and St Petersburg's civil defence infrastructure largely dates to the 20th century and consists of command bunkers for government and military communications, and mass shelters for civilians, including the metro.

Recent inventories in St Petersburg found many shelters in need of repair, and a significant portion of basement space in residential buildings has passed into private hands.

Ukraine's metro systems — particularly in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro — have functioned as round-the-clock bomb shelters since Russia's full-scale invasion began in early 2022, with tens of thousands of people at a time sheltering in them during Moscow's daily air raids.

In frontline regions without a metro, purpose-built underground schools have been constructed so children can attend classes. Ukraine's public education system has also shifted to remote formats because of the persistent threat of Russian air strikes.