Germany is drawing up a list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter for civilians in the event of war, amid growing fears over World War III and rising tensions with Russia about the war in Ukraine.

The Interior Ministry has announced that underground train stations, car parks, public buildings and private property could all be exploited for protection if war breaks out between Ukraine’s western supporters and Russia.

The plans were announced as a senior NATO official urged companies to prepare for a “war scenario” and adjust their production and distribution chains to be less vulnerable to blackmail from Russia and his allies.

Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of NATO’s military committee, warned businesses today at an event at the European Policy Center think tank that Western dependencies left allies vulnerable to pressure from Russia and China.

“Business leaders in Europe and America must understand that the business decisions they make have strategic consequences for the security of their nation,” he stressed, adding: “Even if it is the military who win battles, economies win wars.” ‘

Reservist soldiers fire Heckler & Koch G36 rifles while training in Germany, October 23, 2024

A Leopard 2A7V main battle tank of the German Army takes part in the Lithuanian-German international military exercise “Grand Quadriga 2024” in Lithuania on May 29, 2024.

A Ukrainian serviceman fires a 120mm mortar at Russian troops on a front line, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar, Ukraine, November 19.

A Leopard 2 tank is seen in action at Marshal Rommel Barracks in Augustdorf, Germany, February 1, 2023.

“If we can ensure that all crucial services and goods can be delivered no matter what, then that is a key part of our deterrence,” Admiral Bauer said in Brussels today.

“We are seeing it with the increasing number of acts of sabotage, and Europe has also seen it with energy supplies,” Bauer said.

“We thought we had a deal with Gazprom, but we actually have a deal with Mr. Putin. And the same goes for Chinese-owned infrastructure and property. We actually have a deal with (the Chinese president) Xi (Jinping).

Bauer highlighted Western dependence on supplies from China, where 60% of all rare earth materials are produced and 90% processed.

He added that chemical ingredients for sedatives, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and high blood pressure drugs also came from China.

“We are naive if we think the Communist Party will never use this power.”

Bauer also warned that Russian ground forces are now more numerous than at the time of Moscow’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago, but said their quality has declined since then.

“The quality of these forces has declined,” said NATO Military Committee Chairman Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, highlighting the state of the force’s equipment and the level of training of its soldiers.

“At the moment, the Russians no longer pose the same threat as in February 2022, so we have some time to prepare,” he said, adding that this meant increasing investments in defense industry.

He added that NATO allies will have to spend much closer to 3% of their gross domestic product on their armed forces to implement the alliance’s new defense plans, as costs will exceed the current target of the 2% alliance.

“The overall percentage needed to make the new plans feasible is much closer to 3% of GDP than 2%,” Bauer said today.

“I expect that under the new (Donald) Trump administration (in the United States), there will be a much more intense discussion about how much more Europe and Canada need to spend, and that’s a healthy and valuable discussion to have.”

Ukrainian servicemen armed with firearms overcame an obstacle course during basic combined military training November 24 in Chernihiv region, Ukraine.

A tank destroyed during the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, November 25, 2024.

A Bundeswehr Tiger attack helicopter takes part in exercises in Lithuania on May 29.

In addition to defense spending, NATO countries have taken additional precautions in civil protection to ensure that in the event of war, civilians are protected and know how to guard against potential threats.

The German Interior Ministry announced today that a digital directory of all bunkers and emergency shelters will be established so that people can find them quickly using a planned phone app.

People will also be encouraged to create protective shelters in their homes by converting basements and garages, a spokesperson told a press briefing.

He declined to give a timeline, saying it was a “big project” that would take “some time,” involving the Office of Civil Defense and Disaster Assistance and others authorities.

The country of 83 million has 579 bunkers, mostly dating from World War II and the Cold War, that can house 480,000 people, up from about 2,000, he said.

Key points of the plan were agreed at a conference of senior officials in June, and a special group is currently reviewing it, the spokesperson said.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, concerns have grown that Moscow could one day target other NATO members.

In October, German intelligence chiefs warned that Russia would likely be able to launch an attack on the military alliance by 2030.

German officials say the country is already facing a surge in Russian espionage and sabotage activities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last week that the conflict in Ukraine had the characteristics of a “world” war and did not rule out the possibility of strikes against Western countries.

Ukrainian servicemen take part in military exercises during exercises in Chernihiv, November 22

Ukrainian soldiers of the Chervona Kalyna brigade fire Soviet-era 2S1 artillery in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, November 15.

Burned cars lie near a building damaged by a Russian drone attack on November 22

The town of Chasiv Yar, on the front line, in ruins after violent fighting, November 11

Tensions escalated following Russia’s use of what appears to be an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile on Dnipro on November 21.

The missile – nicknamed Oreshnik – carries multiple nuclear warheads, is believed to be nuclear capable and travels at a speed and trajectory that makes it difficult to intercept.

Analysts warned the missile was designed to send a “step back” message to the West after the United States finally conceded the right to Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russia, while Ukraine seeks to slow the advance of its troops.

Putin said Friday that Russia would continue testing its new Oreshnik hypersonic missile “including in combat conditions” depending on “the situation and the nature of security threats that are created for Russia.”