Kursk region authorities to ‘dig trenches’ near crowded locations as part of ‘3rd line of defence’

Mikhail Gorbunov, the head of the Kursk region’s Committee of Regional Security, has ordered digging trenches near crowded locations which have no cellars, TASS reports.

Gorbunov says that the locations in question are post offices, banks, shops and other facilities with no cellars. “The basic hide-outs are trenches. Dig those, this isn’t very difficult to do. Put pallets on the bottom of the trenches, and put sacks in there so that people would be able to hide just in case,” he said.

Gorbunov says that the cellars and other hide-outs in his region may fit up to 1.5 million people. Russia’s stats agency Rosstat believes that the region’s population is about 1.1 million as of 2021.

Moreover, there will be more control on the region’s main roads. “Among other things, we have made a decision to strengthen control on the main highways in the Kursk region, including the border areas. The control on entry and exit to Kurchatov, where the Kursk nuclear power plant is located, has already been strengthened,” Roman Starovoyt, the local governor, says. He also announced yesterday that “two lines of defence” had been constructed, the formation of the third line is to be finished by 5 November.

Starovoyt also said yesterday that almost 2,000 people in his region have completed a military training course. “The Kursk region is a border-straddling one, so we need to be prepared for any actions from Ukraine’s army,” he said.

Another border-straddling region of Belgorod is also preparing for different scenarios of the “special military operation.” Various defensive structures were installed in the region yesterday.