Kyiv metro plays dual role as vital transit system and wartime refuge

Record ID: 2343219

  • Title: Kyiv metro plays dual role as vital transit system and wartime refuge
  • Date: 21st February 2026
  • Summary: YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA (FEBRUARY 20, 2026) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF TRAINING UNDER WAY IN ICY LANDSCAPE ICY WATER MILITARY MEMBER STANDING IN FRONT OF FROZEN LAKE WITH PIECE OF ICE CUT AWAY TO EXPOSE WATER, JUMPING IN AND MOVING BACK TO WATER'S EDGE MILITARY MEMBER CRAWLING OUT OF WATER AND STANDING UP, PERSONNEL RUNNING (SOUNDBITE) (En
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Europe Moscow Putin Russia Trump Zelenskiy attacks bombs missiles shelter war in Ukraine
  • Location: KYIV, UKRAINE
  • City: KYIV, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA002612317022026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As commuters stream through Kyiv’s metro during rush hour, the scene could be mistaken for that of any major subway system in the world.
    But Ukraine’s underground transit networks are unique: they double as shelters for residents seeking protection from drone and missile strikes.
    The deep tunnels - used as bomb shelters since the full‑scale invasion began in 2022 - were originally engineered by Soviet planners as potential refuges in the Cold War confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States.
    That decades‑old design now shields thousands of people who take cover underground during air‑raid alerts.
    Platforms that once served only passengers often fill with tents at night as Russia intensifies its attacks on the capital.
    Kyiv residents unfold camping chairs and unroll sleeping mats in the stations, turning them into improvised refuges for families and even pets.
    As Ukraine approaches the fourth anniversary of the invasion, the metro’s dual role underscores how infrastructure once built for a hypothetical war now protects civilians from a very real one.
    (Production: Yurii Kovalenko, Taras Garanich, Margaryta Chornokondratenko, Sergiy Karazy, Felix Hoske)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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