The head of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, on the eve of the Civil Defense Day, told how the response to modern risks and threats is carried out.
Today, civil defense is an integrated system for protecting the population and territories from the dangers of military conflicts and emergencies. This is not a narrow departmental task, but a common cause involving federal and regional authorities, municipalities, organizations, and citizens. This area is receiving increased attention from the country's leadership.
The world is changing, new threats are emerging: large-scale natural disasters and man-made accidents, the use of new types of weapons. At the same time, the main objectives of civil defense are to ensure high readiness to protect the population and the economy from modern weapons of destruction, preserve material and cultural values, and conduct emergency rescue operations in affected areas and emergency zones. All this requires constant improvement from the civil defense.
The strategic planning documents define the main priorities and tasks for the development of civil defense for the long term, including:
- ensuring the readiness of civil defense forces to respond to risks and threats through the creation of new rescue technologies, equipping units with modern models of equipment and equipment, as well as preserving the potential of rescue services in wartime.;
- building a model of resource support for civil defense activities from various sources;
- formation of a unified system of training of the population in the field of civil defense and protection from emergency situations.
A special military operation introduced its own adjustments to the mechanisms for implementing civil defense measures, which required a review of existing approaches and the search for effective solutions to protect the population. The experience gained during the special military operation has shown that for the further development of civil defense, it is necessary to improve the management system and coordination of forces and means in solving tasks in the field of civil defense.
Simultaneously with the applied tasks, legal regulation steps are being implemented aimed at improving the operational implementation of civil defense measures, as well as ensuring coherence between the actions of civil defense management bodies at all levels.
The most important result of the joint work of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia and the senatorial corps was the adoption on July 23, 2025, of Federal Law No. 240-FZ, which introduced significant changes to regulation in the field of civil defense.
Now its management in the regions begins from the moment the governors put into effect plans for civil defense and protection of the population of the relevant subjects of the Russian Federation in full or in part at the suggestion of the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia.
The experience of the SVO has shown that for the further development of civil defense, it is necessary to improve the management system. Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation
The coordination of the activities of authorities and organizations in the implementation of civil defense measures is entrusted to the commissions for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations and fire safety at appropriate levels.
The Government of the Russian Federation determines the procedure for financing individual regional-level civil defense activities, as well as establishes a list of them.
Additionally, Federal Law No. 262-FZ of July 23, 2025 amended the scope of technical regulation. Now, personal protective equipment in the field of civil defense must comply not only with technical regulations and documents on standardization of defense products, but also with the requirements established by the Russian Ministry of Defense in cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
It is necessary to be able to safely evacuate explosive objects found Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation
When planning further improvement and development of the state's civil defense, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations will take into account current and future risks. The Government of the Russian Federation will coordinate all future decisions.
To increase the effectiveness of methods of protecting the population and territories, a set of measures aimed at increasing the readiness, mobility and autonomy of the civil defense forces; the development of universal personal protective equipment and the introduction of various methods and methods of engineering protection; the production of prefabricated life support systems; planning for the use of multiple evacuation methods and humanitarian assistance to the population.
Rescuers are practicing tactics to fight the fire near the compressor station. Photo: Press Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation
For more than nine decades, civil defense has been coping with the challenges of the times by combining generational experience and technological development. The re-equipment of civil defense units with modern technology and equipment that increases the efficiency of work to protect the public, the introduction of modern telecommunications technologies in the field of emergency prevention and modeling of their consequences, the application of new approaches to protecting the population in highly urbanized conditions contributes to improving the effectiveness of civil defense measures in the most difficult conditions.
By the way
For the first time in its 90-year history, civil defense in its modern version and in real conditions has been used in the course of its military operations.
The most demanded measures were to alert the public, conduct emergency rescue operations and extinguish fires, and restore the functioning of public utilities in almost combat conditions. More than once, firefighters had to extinguish fires under fire.
Evacuation of the population from settlements subjected to terrorist attacks from Ukraine is regularly carried out, followed by the resolution of issues of their accommodation and life support.
One of the main trends of the current events was the sheltering of people in protective structures and adaptable rooms of the underground space. Rapid distribution of personal protective equipment was organized in some localities.
Temporary accommodation facilities with a total capacity of more than 110,000 people have been prepared in the country's regions. To date, more than 30 thousand people have been accommodated there. These are residents of the DPR, the LPR, the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, and the affected areas of the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Food and basic necessities are provided at all points where people are accommodated. Medical and psychological assistance is provided.
Since the beginning of the SVR, more than 160,000 people have been evacuated from the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, as well as from the liberated settlements of the Kursk region to safe areas of the country in an organized manner. In the autumn of 2022, a large-scale evacuation of residents of Kherson was carried out. Almost 100,000 people were voluntarily relocated to the territory controlled by the Russian Federation, where they received all the necessary assistance and support. Such large-scale actions have never been carried out in recent history.
In addition, the activities within the framework of the updated concept of Civil defense include large-scale emergency rescue operations of entire cities and large territories. Such works were carried out in Mariupol, Volnovakha, Lisichansk, Severodonetsk and a number of other settlements after their liberation.
Mine clearance has been carried out, building debris has been dismantled, and roads and driveways have been cleared. In 2022, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations carried out sanitary treatment of the population of Mariupol using special machinery and equipment. Washing stations were deployed, where more than 70 thousand people had the opportunity to wash themselves in the conditions of complete lack of water.
Since 2022, pyrotechnic units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have cleared the territory with a total area of more than 9 thousand hectares, and over 311 thousand explosive objects have been neutralized. Of this amount, the territory of the Kursk region was cleared of explosive objects on an area of 672.6 hectares, and 14,732 mines were neutralized. Assistance was provided to the population in the delivery of food and basic necessities.
Since the beginning of the conflict, 355.5 thousand tons of aid (4,374 convoys of the Russian Emergencies Ministry) have been delivered to the DPR, LPR, Kherson, Zaporizhia regions and certain regions of Ukraine. 10.7 thousand tons of aid were delivered to the Kursk region. About 100 units of municipal, engineering, cargo and other equipment were delivered to the Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
Prepared by Timofey Borisov
Alexander Kurenkov (Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters)
