MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. The Russian Emergencies Ministry is working on mechanisms for using various underground facilities as shelters for civilians during military conflicts, Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov said on Wednesday.

"We are working on legal mechanisms for ensuring the use of all types of underground facilities as shelters for the population during military conflicts," he pointed out, addressing the Federation Council (upper house of Russia’s parliament).

Kurenkov also noted that providing shelter to civilians remained a critical issue. "Authorities in [Russia’s] border regions have taken urgent action and organized work in coordination with the Emergencies Ministry to prepare underground facilities to serve as shelters for the population. It is currently the most effective - and in most cases, the only feasible - way of protecting people from suffering wounds from shrapnel and explosive devices at their places of residence," the minister stressed.