Germany plans rapid bunker expansion amid fears of Russian attack

Part article: Germany is drawing up plans to rapidly expand its network of bomb-proof bunkers and shelters, the government’s most senior civilian protection official has said, warning the state needs to be prepared for an attack from Russia within the next four years.

Ralph Tiesler, the head of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), said Europe’s largest economy needed to wake up to the reality of conflict, and that in its current state Germany was inadequately prepared.

“For a long time, there was a widespread belief in Germany that war was not a scenario for which we needed to prepare. That has changed. We are concerned about the risk of a major war of aggression in Europe,” he told the Süddeutsche Zeitung news outlet.

Tiesler called for a national effort to pinpoint and turn tunnels, metro stations, underground garages, car parks and the cellars of public buildings into protective shelters to “quickly create space for 1 million people”. He said his agency will present a comprehensive plan later this summer.

He added that the country was in a race against time, and to rely on the construction of new bunker facilities was insufficient. Such shelters would take a long time to plan and construct and be very costly, Tiesler said. As a result, existing structures needed to be closely considered more immediately.

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has caused fears in other countries, especially in Baltic states but also in Poland and Germany, that Moscow could open new fronts in Europe.