Germany is reportedly drawing up a list of places that could be used as nuclear shelters in the event of a Russian attack.

Underground train stations and car parks have reportedly been earmarked for potential safety sites.

In addition, state buildings and private properties could be repurposed, The Guardian reports. A German interior minister detailed yesterday that a ‘digital directory’ will be drawn up.

This is so people can find shelters quickly using an app. In addition, the minister added that people would be encouraged to create bunkers in their homes by converting basements and garages.

But he declined to provide a timetable, insisting that the project would take some time to develop. It is believed that Germany already has 579 bunkers, mostly from the second world war and the cold war era, which can provide shelter for 480,000 people.

Peter Stano, the EU's foreign affairs spokesman, accused Moscow of ‘taking a nuclear gamble’.

It is thought that the move was a response to the UK and US giving Ukraine the green light to launch storm shadow missiles at Russian territory.

On Tuesday, November 19, Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike, Reuters reports.

"The big picture is that Russia is lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a possible conventional attack," Alexander Graef, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg, told the news agency.