Ukraine is preparing build the most modern shelter system in Europe – together with Finland. Kyiv and Helsinki officially agreed on the creation of an international coalition to implement high security standards to protect the Ukrainian population.
The signing of a joint protocol between the Minister of Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Finland Mari Rantanen is not just a formality. This initiative is a result arrangements between Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the President of Finland Alexander Stubb. This is the beginning of a great work: from the exchange of experience to the concrete construction of shelters of the new generation.
“Coalition of shelters” in practice: a chance for Ukraine to build trust, not concrete
Ukraine has finally realized that civil defense is not an option for peacetime, but a prerequisite for national survival. Something we have chronically lacked for decades. And the initiative to create Coalition of shelters together with Finland – not another “platform of cooperation”, but perhaps the most real chance for the destroyed country to finally realize: shelter is also a weapon, just like a drone, rocket or dugout.
Finland does not need to explain what Russia is. They don’t read about the threat – they lived with it. And therefore, in every quarter of Helsinki, there is not just a tunnel or a parking lot underfoot, but a potential one shelter: swimming pools, shopping centers, ice arenas that turn into bomb shelters in 72 hours. Everything is connected and functioning. This is not the “rich West”, but a cold memory of the winter of 1939, when the USSR came to them as well.
On the other hand, in Ukraine, it is commonplace to see signs with a warning: “basement not suitable”, “shelter under repair”, “closed after 18:00”. People die not only from enemy missiles, but also from indifference. Shelters have become a formality. They are inspected like a stairwell – with a checkmark, but it should be – like the heart of the defense.
And now there was a chance to change it qualitatively. Coalition of shelters – not patching cracks in the foundation, but an attempt to build it anew, according to the Finnish model. Finland give on the role of coordinator. It will help establish technical standards, share documentation, projects, solutions regarding the multifunctionality of shelters. For its part, Ukraine formulates its needs, will determine priorities, in particular for frontline areas.
The biggest challenge is that this initiative does not remain at the level of diplomatic photos. So that the new shelters do not turn into another row of “theirs” under the construction of a concrete box without ventilation and exit. So that we do not try to implement the Finnish system in Ukrainian realities without Finnish discipline and transparency.
Because the shelter is not just concrete, but the answer to the question: “Mom, will we have time to run?”
We used to think of shelter as something temporary, like a concrete box with a rusty lock on the front door and the smell of a basement from the 90s. Finns – no. For them, a shelter is a place that will become a bedroom for your child tomorrow if the eastern front opens again. A parking lot that can turn into an autonomous fortress in a few hours. A pool where a child splashes – and where beds and a month’s supply of water are available in 72 hours.
Shelter is mandatory in Finland condition of new construction. If the area of the object is more than 1,200 m² – storage must be unconditional. And this is a law and a culture of responsibility at the same time. As well as carefully calculated systems of ventilation, air filtration, accessibility for people with disabilities, the availability of supplies and even hygiene products – all this is not “optional”, but mandatory.
Engineers who built underground Helsinki, worked not in the mode of alarm, but in the mode of strategic planning. And we have to leave the logic of “patching by Wednesday” and move to the paradigm of “saving for decades to come.”
Of course, adapting Finnish standards to Ukrainian realities is a challenge. In our country, not the whole country can afford a swimming pool, not to mention a bomb shelter under it. But even on the ruins – if there is a will – you can build. Not copying, but creating based on the best experience.
Finland is building a concrete shelter. Ukraine is still made of paper. This paper has replaced accountability for years. It contained acts of readiness, signatures of officials, tables in Excel – but the main thing was missing: the key in the door of the basement, where people were supposed to hide.
As of 2025, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are more than 62,000 registered in Ukraine shelters. The number is impressive. But if you ask a person from Kyiv, who runs at night with a child in his arms, whether something has changed since June 2023, he will most likely say: no.
Summer of 2023. Kyiv. Three people died during another rocket attack. Among them is a 9-year-old child. There was shelter closed. People beat the door with their fists – and died.
This episode became a turning point – not for officials, but for society. Because it suddenly became clear that a shelter is not always a shelter, but often just a metaphor. As well as words about “preparedness for winter”, “humanitarian support”, “reliable rear”.
After that scandal in Kyiv recorded more than 600 cases of closed shelters. Each of them has a potential death trap. About a quarter of the tested shelters unsuitable. There is no ventilation, water, or light. There is no elemental, and therefore – the possibility of survival.
Legislation responded. The President signed a law introducing administrative and even criminal liability for inaccessible shelters. But will the key appear in the door after that? And most importantly, will those who should have opened this door yesterday have a conscience?
The shelter of a new time: how Ukraine transforms concrete formality into a guarantee of life
From now on, safe shelter is not a luxury, but a norm for every new home. Officially from November 1, 2023 in Ukraine acquired new state building regulations DBN V.2.2-5:2023 “Protective structures of civil defense” are in force. This is not just a change in technical requirements – it is a civilizational shift in approaches to security.
The Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure has recorded: from now on, any project for the reconstruction of residential or public buildings must include protective structures: storage facilities, anti-radiation shelters or dual-purpose structures. Not symbolic basements or formal “shelters”, but full-fledged, correctly designed structures capable of protecting life.
In a country where the word “anxiety” has become a part of everyday life, such a norm is more than a norm. This is a response to the demand of society, which requires not only restoration, but also security guarantees. The new DBNs lay the cornerstone of the future, where every home, school, and hospital will not only have a roof over their heads, but also protection from real threats. This means that in the future there will not be a new school without a shelter in Kyiv, Kharkiv or Kherson. That under the kindergarten there will not be a storeroom, but a space with ventilation, water, a toilet and, most importantly, an open door.
Now responsibility for people’s lives is not only moral, but also legal. From February 1, 2025 in Ukraine works Law No. 4200-IX, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on January 9. The long-awaited document, which became a logical continuation of the state course on security during the war.
For the first time, it was clearly defined: protective structures of civil protection are not a decorative attribute on paper and not a formal column in the documentation. The owners and maintainers of such objects now bear direct administrative and even criminal responsibility for their condition, accessibility and functionality. Because until now these rules were simple: the developer designs – as convenient; local government accepts – as profitable; the citizen knocks on the shelter – as if on a concrete void.
No access to shelter during an air raid? A fine of 1,700 to 3,400 hryvnias has already been stipulated for this. And if the violation is repeated, the sanction increases to 8500. This is not about numbers, but about the principle: the right to rescue is unconditional. And whoever ignores him will be held accountable. Ukraine, which is experiencing a full-scale war, no longer allows negligence in matters where seconds and lives are concerned.
In a country where every air alert is a challenge to survival, Ukraine has taken another step towards the systematic protection of the civilian population. From now on, safe shelter is not a coincidence, but data in a few clicks. With the support of the Ministry of Digital in the country worked the updated electronic system of accounting for protective structures, integrated into the “Action” application.
It is not just a register, but a tool for monitoring, feedback and citizen participation. Every Ukrainian can now find the nearest shelter, check its real condition, rate availability, leave feedback or report a problem. Interactivity, transparency and quick access to statistical data make it possible not only to be informed, but also to influence the responsibility of local authorities. Ukraine is transforming the shelter from the legacy of the Soviet past into a modern life protection mechanism – public, digital, accountable.
In addition, specialists of the State Emergency Service together with police officers do not just record statistics, they regularly go out into the field. Quarter by quarter, they check the condition of the shelters, so that each of them is not only on the map, but also in reality – accessible, open, ready to receive people in case of danger.
Tetyana Viktorova
