Demand for bunkers soars as Russia raises spectre of nuclear war

Europe has seen an explosion in demand for bomb shelters and nuclear bunkers amid fears that Russia might start a nuclear war or cause a nuclear accident.

Companies in Germany, Switzerland, France, UK and even the US have reported a sharp rise in the number of customers asking about how to build or buy shelters that might help them survive the fallout.

"In the first few weeks of March people were really scared and wanted immediate help," Claus Haglund from Bühler GmbH, a Swiss firm that installs and repairs bunkers, told The Telegraph.

He said requests for both new bunkers and repairs "exploded" after Russia’s invasion. In Switzerland, some residential buildings are still required to include functional bomb shelters.

"Basically, they wanted to know how quickly their bunkers could be made useable," he added.

Liliane Staub, another Bühler staffer, told Swiss news outlet 20 Minutes: "Just a month ago we were smiled at during the shelter checks. Now people are beating down our doors."

Vladimir Putin put his country’s nuclear forces on alert in March and has repeatedly threatened Western countries and Nato for intervening in Ukraine.

On Thursday, he warned Western nations against further interfering in the war, directly referring to a new nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile system named Satan II, which is capable of targeting the UK, US and western Europe and which will launch by autumn.

Weighing more than 200 tonnes, Satan II works like a cluster bomb, carrying not just one warhead but up to 15, which disperse over enemy territory to take out one city each.

"We have all the tools for this — ones that no one can brag about. And we won’t brag. We will use them if needed. And I want everyone to know this," Mr Putin said. "We have already taken all the decisions on this."

The war has also raised the spectre of another nuclear accident similar to that seen in Chernobyl in 1986.

Russian troops captured the plant for a month in late February, during which time it was not clear if it was being properly maintained. Rockets were also fired near the nuclear plant in Marhanets in early March - threatening the worst nuclear accident since Fukushima.

In the UK, Subterranean Spaces, a specialist basement construction firm, said back in March that enquiries had surged "100 per cent" compared to the year before.

Founder Charles Hardman said on the first two days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the company received 12 enquiries from families in London, Wales and even the French Alps.

Germany’s BSSD – the only German bunker manufacturer which builds shelters for private individuals – has also seen unprecedented demand since the invasion.

Mario Piejde, the company's CEO, told the German newspaper Zeit that his company is receiving more than 1,000 calls every day.

"It’s been like this for six weeks," Mr Piejde said earlier this month. "People are freaking out."

In France, a country with only around 1000 bunkers in total, manufacturing companies say they have also been very busy.

French bomb shelter company Bünkl told French media that they received 284 calls on February 25 alone - the day after the invasion - and have received constant requests since.

Because bunkers may not be affordable for everyone, the European Union has also agreed to broaden its strategic stockpiles in the case of chemical, nuclear and biological attacks, and is collecting medicines and protective gear including decontamination gloves and masks.

Citizens in several European countries including Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark and Finland have also begun to stockpile iodine tablets, which are recommended to mitigate the risk of thyroid cancer in the instance of a nuclear attack.