Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a new market segment has emerged – the sale of private bomb shelters. Before the massive rocket attacks, it was almost non-existent, but now private shelters are in demand among ordinary Ukrainians. They can be purchased for different prices and for different purposes: both for commercial and private premises.
[Kommersant] has collected the most interesting offers on the Ukrainian market and how much you can buy a real bomb shelter for.
Types of shelters
According to according to of one of the distributors of protective shelters, the proposed facilities can be used
- for commercial purposes (mini-cafes, shops, kiosks, shelters near critical infrastructure, etc;)
- social purposes (mobile shelters in crowded places, near educational institutions, public transport stops, indestructibility points, etc;)
- private (for individual use near private houses in the territories of multi-storey buildings).
Shelter prices
The price depends on the purpose of use and dimensions. They can be above-ground and buried. In particular, the price for above-ground shelters ranges from one million hryvnias.
According to the distributor, such shelters provide protection during an air raid. They are located in the middle of the building, made of reinforced concrete, have airtight doors, benches, fire extinguishers, a first aid kit, power supply, heat fans and ventilation.
Modular shelters are more expensive. Their prices range from 2 million to 15 million hryvnias, depending on the size and functionality. The most expensive of these shelters costs over UAH 15 million. It can accommodate up to 350 people and can be installed both on the ground and fully or partially buried in the ground.
Private ground shelters are cheaper: their prices range from UAH 385,000 to a million. They can be composite or modular and can accommodate 6 to 10 people.
Prices for buried commercial shelters are much more expensive, ranging from 4 million to 15 million and can accommodate 105 to 350 people, depending on the type of shelter.
Companies also offer for sale shelters for educational institutions that can be installed both on the ground and fully or partially buried in the ground.
In addition, small metal armoured capsules are available for sale. For example, an armoured capsule for sheltering 3 people can be purchased for UAH 120 thousand.
Government and commercial solutions
The government is also actively engaged in the topic of shelters, including social shelters. The Cabinet of Ministers has recently allocated UAH 56.9 million for the construction of shelters in schools in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Kyiv regions. The funds will be used for radiation shelters and bomb shelters in four educational institutions.
In general, Ukrainians use special basements, subways and car parks as shelters. Interactive maps of shelters can be found on Diia, Armyinfo, and other websites.
It is not uncommon for Ukrainians to build shelters themselves. In particular, this winter, Kyiv resident Serhiy Zakharin created a steel shelter that can be installed in an apartment, the so-called “Life Capsule”. The developer estimates the cost of the “Life Capsule” at UAH 70,000, but is looking for ways to make it more affordable for Ukrainians.
Developers do not stand aside either: when building new residential complexes, they build separate bomb shelters for residents. In particular, the well-known Ukrainian company “Intergal-Bud has started to equip shelters in every residential building. For this purpose, they use the areas on the basement floors of buildings that were previously allocated for storage.
Experience of other countries
The war in Israel has been going on since the country’s founding, so almost all homes in this country have mamads – fortified rooms that are used in peacetime as ordinary living quarters with windows, air conditioning and other essentials.
It has been an official government requirement since 1993 to build mamads in apartments, but according to local media, only 800,000 apartments out of more than 2 million across the country have these safe rooms. This is roughly 40%.
They are built in the form of a cube of concrete. Special shockproof doors are also installed, which are hermetically sealed and can only be opened from the outside, designed to prevent the penetration of blast waves and debris.
Ukraine is not lagging behind in this regard: on 22 August 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law requiring the mandatory installation of bomb shelters in new buildings.
Earlier that month, on 10 August, the standards for the construction of civil defence structures were approved – DBN V.2.2-5:2023. These regulations should ensure the protection of the population in times of threat, as well as affect the nature of construction and utilities.
Author – Aliona Kaplina