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Poland will force real estate developers to allocate space for bomb shelters in most new buildings from 2026, as the frontline state confronts the mammoth task of overhauling its lacklustre civilian defences against the threat of Russian aggression.
Poland, which has suffered several Russian invasions in its history, has become a major target of Moscow’s hybrid warfare. Last month, it narrowly avoided major casualties when alleged Kremlin operatives bombed a train line. In September, Nato fighter jets shot down Russian drones that had violated Polish airspace.
The attacks have highlighted a serious hole in Poland’s defences: despite proportionally leading Nato in military spending, at almost 5 per cent of GDP, the government has invested little in protecting its population. Most of its shelters were built in the communist era and are now in dire condition.
It is a “gigantic problem”, said Sławomir Cenckiewicz, head of Poland’s national security bureau and a key adviser to President Karol Nawrocki. “We really have to increase our civilian resilience . . . Poland in recent years has focused on the modernisation of the armed forces and forgot about this.”
On top of the new building law, Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government earmarked 16bn zlotys (€3.8bn) in this year’s budget for shelter construction. Cities, including Warsaw, are channelling some of their own funds to upgrade and expand existing facilities.
In December, Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski announced a project to turn the city’s metro into a shelter for 100,000 residents, where they will be provided with camp beds, drinking water and blankets.
Poland is looking for inspiration to Finland, which has the longest Nato border with Russia and about 50,000 bomb shelters.
In September, Nawrocki toured a 6,000-person shelter under Helsinki, which houses a café, playground, volleyball court and gym. “It is crucial for Poland and its people that we implement these mechanisms,” he said.
Just hours later, drones flew into Poland, sparking the most serious clash between Russia and Nato since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The incident, combined with the railway bombing, supercharged public fears about civilian safety.
Poles have even begun warming to the idea of conscription, which was long taboo due to memories of being forced to serve in Soviet bloc forces. Almost 60 per cent said they would approve of army service, according to a United Surveys poll last month.
Only about 1,000 shelters have been deemed fit for purpose — enough to protect at most 3 per cent of its population. By contrast, Finland’s shelters could safeguard at least 80 per cent of its people.
But Poland is not Finland. At 37mn, its population is more than six times the size of its northern ally. Poland’s existing refuges are inadequate and most buildings were not designed to be able to easily add shelters.
And the country’s role as a logistics hub for western weapons being shipped to Ukraine makes it a particular target.
But businesses are starting to smell opportunity. In October, Polish construction company Atlas Ward formed a joint venture with Temet, a leading Finnish supplier of blast protection doors and shelter ventilation systems.
“I wouldn’t say that Poland is way too late but it’s very good that it has woken up” to its shelter shortfall, said Juha Simola, Temet’s chief executive, adding that it took Finland 70 years to reach its current level of protection. “Building shelters for the whole population in Poland will take a lot of time.”
Last month, the western city of Poznań hosted the country’s first civil protection fair, showcasing exhibits such as a tubelike shelter that can be buried in a garden and accommodate a family of four.
Poland’s civil protection law came into force last January, but detailed building regulations have yet to be established — with just weeks to go until developers will have to make provisions for shelters in new buildings. Without strict standards, experts warn that money could be wasted.
Temet executive Markku Bollman said shelter construction was a specialised job, and that loose regulations could lead companies without sufficient expertise to bid for contracts.
Even if the law is not perfect, it “at least gives a chance to start”, said Jarosław Gromadziński, a recently retired Polish army general. “We have increased the size of our cities without thinking about the protection of people in a crisis situation.”
While the country was right to prioritise the army’s development, Gromadziński said, it was becoming clear that protecting civilians was “not as easy or quick as buying weapons”.
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