Stand behind Ukrainian independent journalism when it’s needed most. Help us reach 20,000 members.

Skip to content
Edit post

Media: Education Minister says 76% of institutions in Ukraine have bomb shelters

by Dinara Khalilova and The Kyiv Independent news desk August 31, 2023 9:29 PM 2 min read
Desks, maps and drawings are pictured in the bomb shelter set up by the students and teachers of Chyhyryn Lyceum N2, Chyhyryn, Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine. (Volodymyr Tarasov / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukrainian authorities have equipped 76% of educational institutions with bomb shelters ahead of the new academic year, Education Minister Oksen Lisovy told Suspilne media outlet.

The state has allocated Hr 1.5 billion (about $40 million) to finance the measure, according to Lisovy.

"But this is not enough. For schools, kindergartens, vocational schools, and higher education institutions to be equipped with shelters, local budgets have contributed to a large extent," the minister said in the interview.

Lisovy added that around 7,000 bomb shelters for educational institutions still needed to be built.

Interfax Ukraine: 75 Ukrainian children tortured by Russian forces, prosecutor says
Ukrainian prosecutors discovered that Russian forces had tortured 75 children throughout the full-scale invasion, Interfax Ukraine reported on Aug. 31. Most cases of torture took place in Chernihiv Oblast’s village of Yahidne, which was under Russian occupation for about a month.

"Out of them, 2,000 shelters are in areas where we will not build today because we do not foresee the possibility of children going to school (there). These are educational institutions located from zero to 50 kilometers from the front line," the official explained to Suspilne.

Earlier, Lisovy said at a conference that about 500,000 Ukrainian children would return to offline schooling from Sept. 1. The process would vary from region to region depending on the security conditions.

‘That’s it, it’s death, guys.’ What we know about Russia’s killing of 2 Ukrainian teenagers in occupied Berdiansk
On the evening of June 24, 16-year-olds Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov went for a walk in their hometown of Berdiansk, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The two got some street food, saw some friends, and discussed how they would celebrate Khanhanov’s 17…

Education in Ukraine was first disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then the full-scale war. Schools shut on Feb. 24, 2022, when Russia launched its invasion, and many have not reopened due to the threat of Russian attacks.

As a result, a third of Ukrainian schoolchildren learn online. One-third of children learn fully in person, and another third learn in a hybrid approach.

About half of Ukrainian teachers believe there has been a decline in their students' language, reading, and mathematics skills since then, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Since February 2022, over 3,500 educational institutions in Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, UNICEF reported in July.

Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.

We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.

Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?

Can we reach 20,000 members?

News Feed

11:51 PM

Trump 'very surprised, disappointed' at Russian attacks on Ukraine amid peace talks.

"I've gotten to see things I was very surprised at. Rockets being shot into cities like Kyiv during a negotiation that was maybe very close to ending," Trump said during a news conference in the Oval Office. "All of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. I saw thing I was surprised at and I don't like being surprised, so I'm very disappointed in that way."
5:10 PM

All territory will revert to Ukraine, predicts US diplomat.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sits down with Michael Carpenter, former U.S. Ambassador to OSCE and senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, to discuss the current lagging U.S. military support for Ukraine amid the ongoing ceasefire talks with Russia. Carpenter also offers his predictions for the future of Ukraine’s occupied territories.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.