The War in Ukraine Has Changed the Meaning of Workplace Safety
For decades, workplace safety in much of Europe focused primarily on fire protection, emergency exits, first aid, occupational hazards and natural disasters. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated that organisations may also need to consider risks associated with missile and drone attacks, explosions, blast waves and flying debris.
The experience of Ukrainian businesses has shown that workplaces located far from the front line can still be exposed to long-range attacks. Offices, factories, warehouses, logistics centres, energy facilities and retail locations may all have employees on site when an air-raid warning is issued.
This raises a fundamental question for business owners and facility managers:
If employees have only a few minutes to react, where will they go?
For organisations operating in higher-risk locations, the answer may involve a properly designed protective shelter or safe room located inside or close to the workplace.
Employee Protection Is Part of Business Resilience
Machinery can be repaired. Inventory can be replaced. Buildings can be rebuilt. Human lives cannot.
Workplace protection should therefore be considered not only as a health-and-safety issue, but also as part of a broader business-continuity and risk-management strategy.
Ukraine’s State Labour Service advises employers to prepare clear instructions for personnel during an air-raid alert, inform employees about the nearest available shelter and explain the required evacuation procedures. These instructions should be communicated to everyone working at the facility.
Source: State Labour Service of Ukraine
This does not mean that every business is automatically required to construct its own shelter. It does, however, show that emergency protection cannot be improvised after an alert begins.
A Basement Is Not Automatically a Shelter
Moving employees into a basement does not necessarily provide adequate protection.
A protective space should be assessed as a complete system. Depending on the identified threat, occupancy, building structure and applicable national regulations, it may require:
- reinforced walls and ceilings;
- protected entrances and emergency exits;
- suitable ventilation or air-filtration systems;
- emergency lighting and communication equipment;
- drinking water and sanitation;
- firefighting and first-aid equipment;
- protected technical penetrations;
- sufficient space for the expected number of occupants.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service recommends, among other measures, that basic shelters have functioning ventilation and lighting, seating, drinking water, sanitation arrangements and preferably at least two exits. It also emphasises the need to reinforce vulnerable structural elements and close unnecessary openings.
Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine
The exact solution must always reflect the threat against which the space is intended to provide protection. A room designed for temporary protection against debris will not necessarily offer the same level of safety as an engineered blast-resistant or CBRN shelter.
The Shelter Must Be Close Enough to Reach
Theoretical access to a shelter is not the same as practical protection.
During an emergency, employees may have very little time to respond. A public shelter located several streets away may be difficult to reach, particularly from a large factory, warehouse, logistics centre or industrial site.
A protected area located inside the building or immediately adjacent to the workplace can make the emergency procedure simpler and more predictable. Employees know where to go, evacuation routes can be clearly marked, and regular drills can reduce confusion when an alert is issued.
When evaluating access to shelter, businesses should consider:
- how long it takes employees to reach the protected space;
- whether the route remains usable during an emergency;
- whether people with reduced mobility can access it;
- whether the shelter can accommodate all employees and visitors;
- whether alternative access and emergency exits are available.
A shelter that cannot be reached safely and quickly may offer less protection than its technical specification suggests.
Why Blast-Resistant Doors Matter
Every opening in the protective envelope is a potential weak point.
A reinforced room fitted with an ordinary commercial door may not provide the intended level of protection. An explosion can generate both a powerful pressure wave and dangerous fragments. The entrance must therefore be designed as part of the protective structure rather than treated as a conventional doorway.
Ukraine’s DBN V.2.2-5:2023 standard for civil-protection structures requires protective and hermetic doors and emergency-exit hatches to correspond to the protection class of the shelter. It also states that the required resistance of these closures must be determined using calculated design loads.
Source: DBN V.2.2-5:2023 – Protective Structures of Civil Protection
Although regulations vary between countries, the engineering principle remains the same:
A protective room is only as effective as its most vulnerable elements.
The door leaf, frame, hinges, locking system, seals, anchoring and surrounding wall must work together. A heavy-looking steel door does not automatically provide blast resistance if its frame and anchoring system have not been designed for the same loads.
The appropriate protection level should be determined by qualified engineers according to the expected threat, building structure, number of occupants and applicable national requirements.
Not Every Business Needs the Same Solution
The case for workplace shelters should not be based on the claim that every company is legally required to build one. Requirements differ between countries, building types and risk categories.
The more useful question is whether the organisation’s actual risk justifies additional protective measures.
Factors that may increase the need for a professional assessment include:
- proximity to critical infrastructure, energy facilities, airports, ports or military installations;
- location within a major industrial or logistics zone;
- operation of services essential during emergencies;
- a large number of employees working at one site;
- limited access to existing public shelters;
- new construction where protective space can be incorporated during the design stage.
For one organisation, the appropriate solution may be the adaptation of an existing basement. For another, it may involve a reinforced safe room inside the building. A large industrial facility may require a dedicated shelter or several protected areas distributed across the site.
The decision should follow a professional risk and structural assessment—not a generic product recommendation.
Protection Must Be Engineered and Verified
Buying a structure advertised as a “shelter” is not enough.
In July 2026, Ukraine’s Economic Security Bureau reported an investigation concerning modular shelters purchased for employees of thermal power plants. According to investigators, the structures did not meet the required technical specifications and could not be used for their intended protective purpose.
Source: Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine
The case demonstrates why documented technical performance matters.
Businesses should require clearly defined design criteria, calculations, technical documentation and evidence that the proposed solution corresponds to the identified threat. The shelter envelope, entrance, emergency exit, ventilation penetrations and supporting structure should be evaluated as parts of one protective system.
Protection should never be based solely on the thickness of a steel plate, the weight of a door or the appearance of a reinforced room.
What Businesses Can Do Now
Organisations do not need to begin by constructing a new shelter. They should begin by understanding their risk.
A practical assessment can include:
- identifying the threats relevant to the location and type of activity;
- checking the availability and accessibility of nearby shelters;
- measuring how long employees need to reach them;
- evaluating whether an existing basement or underground area can be adapted;
- determining the required occupancy and duration of use;
- consulting qualified structural and civil-protection specialists;
- preparing evacuation procedures and conducting regular drills;
- inspecting and maintaining protective equipment.
Protective measures are most effective when considered early. In new commercial and industrial developments, including a protected space during the design stage is generally more practical than attempting to add one after construction has been completed.
Prepare Before Protection Is Needed
Ukraine’s 2026 civil-protection plan prioritises the development and restoration of protective structures, improved warning systems, evacuation planning and the preparedness of critical infrastructure. The wider lesson is clear: protective infrastructure is easier to prepare before an emergency than during one.
Source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
For business owners, developers, architects and facility managers, the key question should not be limited to:
“Are we legally required to build a shelter?”
A more responsible question is:
“If an attack or explosion occurred while our employees were at work, would they have access to an appropriate place of protection?”
A properly designed shelter or safe room can become an important element of workplace safety and business resilience. But its effectiveness depends on professional engineering, accessible evacuation routes and properly designed protective entrances.
The best time to answer these questions is not when the warning siren begins.
It is during the planning stage.