Authorities are considering converting underground parking lots and subway stations into hiding spots for Germans in the event that nuclear bombs start dropping.
As an active supporter of Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022, Germany recognizes that as Russia gains ground, the rest of Ukraine-supporting Europe could face future attacks. As such, Germany's Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance is working alongside other authorities to develop new defense measures.
During World War II and the Cold War, Germany maintained about 2,000 operational bunkers. Today, there are only about 579 bunkers left with a total capacity for only about 480,000 people – Germany's population is currently about 84 million.
Germany's armed forces are also working with businesses throughout the country to retrofit their facilities in preparation for war. A secret 1,000-page "Operational Plan Germany" outlines the steps that would need to be taken to defend critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict.
(Related: Officials in the U.S. and Europe are considering sending nuclear weapons to Ukraine in the latest escalatory war move.)
American businesses need to prepare, too
Adm. Rob Bauer, a senior official at NATO, spoke this week as well about the need for the West to start preparing for a direct conflict with Russia. Businesses both in Europe and the United States need to prepare for potential wartime scenarios so they can continue producing, distributing and operating.
A third world war has already begun, according to Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine's former military chief who now works as envoy to the United Kingdom. Now that Kiev has begun using Western-supplied long-range missiles in Russia, violating one of President Putin's "red lines," World War III is here even if the nukes have not yet commenced.
Putin has warned the West again and again that the actions Ukraine, backed by the U.S. and other Western countries, has taken constitute a declaration of war against Russia. Now we wait to see how Russia plans to respond in the coming days.
As of this writing, Russia has not yet targeted any NATO member territory – Ukraine, after all, is not a member of NATO but wishes to join. Russia has, however, introduced a new hypersonic ballistic missile with multiple warheads that Putin claims cannot be intercepted or stopped by any of NATO's defense systems.
Germany's Bundeswehr recently launched a nationwide plan for how its economy can overcome a possible direct attack by Russia.
Lt. Col. Jörn Plischke led a session at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce that urged local businesses to start taking proactive measures such as training at least five additional truck drivers for every 100 employees. The reason for this is that as of right now, upwards of 70 percent of the trucks on Germany's roads are operated by people from Central and Eastern Europe who may not still be available to work in the event of WWIII.
German businesses are also being instructed to develop contingency plans for how to structure employee shifts during wartime. People and businesses alike need to be self-sufficient, i.e., with the use of backup power sources like diesel generators and wind turbines.
All of this is happening as a response to President Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to conduct direct strikes on Russian territory using U.S.-supplied long-range missile systems in violation of Putin's orders.
Putin knew all of this was going to happen because the missile systems in question require NATO to operate. Any such attack will thus be considered a direct attack on Russia by NATO, which changes the game entirely and puts the entire world at risk of possible nuclear fallout.
How much longer will it be until WWIII arrives? Find out more at WWIII.news.
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