Shelter Inspection Results
An audit conducted by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights examined 1,066 shelters that the Diia app had listed as accessible. The findings revealed that 993 of these facilities—93% of the total—had significant deficiencies. Even more concerning, 80 shelters were completely unusable at the time of the inspection, raising serious safety concerns for civilians relying on this information during emergencies.
Recommendations and Regional Issues
Inspectors issued a total of 3,996 recommendations to improve the condition of these protective structures, averaging 4.5 suggestions per shelter. Among regions frequently targeted by attacks, the number of faults varied: Kherson Oblast shelters received an average of 5.4 citations, Zaporizhzhia Oblast 4.6, and both Kyiv and Odesa Oblasts 4.1 each. The highest average number of recommendations per facility was found in Zakarpattia Oblast, where it reached 9.2.
The largest concentration of non-functional shelters was recorded in Lviv Oblast, Kyiv city, and the Zhytomyr, Kyiv, and Kharkiv Oblasts. This situation demands urgent action, especially given that as of early 2026, Ukraine has 66,574 shelters with a total capacity of approximately 16.5 million people.
In 2025, the state allocated 6.2 billion hryvnias for school shelters, followed by 5 billion hryvnias in 2026. Additionally, over 6 billion hryvnias from the reserve fund were directed toward critical infrastructure. However, it is important to note that no state funding has been provided for publicly accessible shelters. This highlights the pressing need to address both the availability and functionality of shelters to ensure citizen safety.
A person would run there during an air raid alert and find locked doors—or, as we discovered, a completely dilapidated basement. It was essentially impossible to go down there at all.
Dmytro Lubinets
The inspection results point to a critical safety crisis in many regions of Ukraine, particularly those subjected to regular attacks. Despite substantial state budget allocations for shelters, their functionality and accessibility remain questionable. This underscores the urgent need for government action to improve protective infrastructure and better safeguard citizens during emergencies.