Sales of bunkers in Europe increase due to the war in Ukraine

Fears of a possible nuclear war after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led bunker manufacturers to increase their sales in European Union countries such as France, which is one of the laggards in the acquisition of this type of equipment.

According to Artémis Protection, a manufacturer of anti-nuclear bunkers. France has around 1,000 fallout shelters, 400 private and 600 from military organizations, despite being the second country with the most nuclear reactors only after the United States.

“We are the second country with the most nuclear reactors behind the United States and, paradoxically, we are the country that least prepares its population for a major incident,” Mathieu Sérenne, director of Artémis Protection, told the news channel BFM Business.

As mentioned in the publication of the European media, the uncertainty of a possible nuclear war has awakened a market that was believed to be only for people and companies concerned about nuclear protection issues.

According to BFM, some neighbouring countries are better prepared than France in setting up shelters. Switzerland in particular, a federal law of 1971 obliges each of its citizens to be within reach of a refuge that offers protection for both atomic, chemical or biological bombs.

“There are bunkers everywhere in Switzerland, most of which are collective bunkers,” said Enzo Pétrone, director of the company Amesis, which has been making shelters for a decade in France.

Uncertainty continues to grow

Although Russia has rejected the idea of ​​nuclear war by accusing Western countries of believing that “a third world war can only be nuclear”, various actions promoted by Moscow indicate that President Vladimir Putin seeks to have nuclear control of Ukraine as a possible backup against external threats.

From the first days of the invasion, Russia sought to take control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and days later they took control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Vienna, Austria, some 400 Russian soldiers keep besieged and under control of the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest in Europe.

As explained by Petro Kotin, president of Energoatom, the operator of the plant, the Russian military maintains 24-hour surveillance, in addition to the fact that the plant remains under the control of the commander of the Russian military forces.

Therefore, Ukraine affirms that Russia seeks to take full and permanent control of the plant under the control of the state-owned company Rosatom, something that Moscow has rejected.