1 in 1 Children learn in classrooms set up in a subway station in Kharkiv, Ukraine Photo: Portal/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy Children learn in classrooms set up in a subway station in Kharkiv, Ukraine Photo: Portal/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy
Ukraine is preparing to build the country’s first fully underground school in Kharkiv in the eastern region. The aim is to protect students from Russian bombing raids, said the city’s mayor.
Kharkiv is one of the largest cities in Ukraine and had around 1.4 million inhabitants before the Russian invasion. The region is very close to the border with Russia and is the target of constant attacks.
“Such accommodation will allow thousands of Kharkiv children to continue their education in person and safely, even during rocket threats,” said Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
After the invasion, Karkhiv managed to set up 60 classrooms in subway stations for facetoface teaching. The room looks after around 1,000 children every day.
The new underground school “will meet the most modern regulatory requirements for protective structures,” Terekhov said. The mayor did not provide any information about the space’s capacity or opening date.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Education, 363 educational institutions were destroyed as a result of the war. Another 3,800 were damaged in attacks across the country.