Ukraine plans to open over 150 underground schools by fall 2025

Ukraine plans to open over 150 underground educational facilities by September of 2025, Deputy Education Minister Nadiia Kuzmychova said at a briefing on Dec. 27.

Ukraine's underground schools are a response to Russian aerial attacks, which regularly target civilian infrastructure, including education facilities.

Ukraine has initiated plans to build 139 underground schools and several dozen underground vocational education institutions, Kuzmychova said at a Dec. 27 briefing, as reported by the news outlet Suspilne.

There are currently 79 underground education facilities under active construction, she said. Construction is ongoing in front-line regions and areas most affected by Russian shelling.

"We expect the construction of absolutely all facilities to be completed by September 1, 2025," Kuzmychova said.

Kharkiv was the first Ukrainian city to open schools underground to protect students from shelling and aerial attacks, while still offering in-person learning. The city operates schools in its metro stations.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has damaged one in every seven Ukrainian schools and completely destroyed over 400 educational institutions, the Education Ministry reported in February 2024.

When the school year began in September 2024, Russian strikes damaged at least 12 education facilities in just three days, leading to dozens of casualties.

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The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova