The Big Shelter: How Kyiv’s Metro Stations Became Essential Bunkers for Millions

The vastness of the metro tunnels allows for an astonishing number of people to find refuge. Estimates suggest that on nights of the heaviest barrages, tens of thousands of people descend into the system across the city. This mass convergence underscores the metro's critical function as the ultimate "big shelter," a sanctuary capacious enough to absorb a significant portion of the urban population seeking protection from the catastrophic nature of modern warfare.