The move comes as Russian regions bordering Ukraine have declared emergency situations due to the incursion and heavy shelling, forcing the evacuation of thousands from border areas.

“Today in Kursk the installation of concrete shelters has begun,” governor Alexei Smirnov wrote on Telegram.

He posted a photo of a truck carrying one of the concrete modules. He said that 60 such ground-level shelters will be placed at transport stops in the city.

The regional capital of Kursk is about 80km from the border with Ukraine’s Sumy region, from where the offensive began. It has a population of around 440,000.

Smirnov said that 10 shelters would be installed in the smaller city of Zheleznogorsk and similar measures would be taken in the town of Kurchatov, which is located next to the Kursk nuclear plant.

“The decision on the installation of such constructions was taken by the operational headquarters” made up of officials from various agencies, he added.

Officials in Kursk in June said that they would install large numbers of such shelters only “in the case of escalation”, Kommersant newspaper reported.

Ukraine has installed similar shelters in towns and cities including Kyiv.