Kenneth Glad
Classes are being moved into protected spaces as ordinary routines become harder to preserve. Local officials say education remains a priority despite continuing attacks.
Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine is building its first underground kindergarten, UNITED24 Media reports, as officials look for ways to protect children while keeping schools open during Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said at the GLOBSEC Forum that the city, located near the Russian border, has already created 10 underground schools and adapted metro stations for classes.
Terekhov said: “Today we are building the first kindergarten underground. Terrible, of course, terrible… I don’t want our enemy to take away from our children the opportunity to study. I don’t want our enemy to take away our children’s childhood.”
The shift reflects the conditions facing families in Kharkiv, where missile and drone attacks have repeatedly disrupted daily life and damaged civilian infrastructure.
UNITED24 Media writes that Terekhov described strikes affecting residential districts and transport networks, while residents continue living with the sound of explosions and the risk of casualties.
“We were forced to build 10 underground schools, we were forced to rebuild the metro station for schools so that our children had the opportunity to study,” Terekhov said.
Support remains central
At the forum, Terekhov also thanked Ukraine’s international partners for humanitarian and financial help, saying such backing remains important for the country’s survival and recovery.
He linked that support to a wider need for security guarantees and a future in which Ukrainian families can return home.
“I really want and I hope that the war will end. I really want there to be no war. I really want our people to return to their homes, to their country. I want to believe that next year we will gather here at the Global Forum, and there will be no more war by then.”
The Ukrainian outlet also reported that another underground school opened in January 2025 in Pechenihy, southeast of Kharkiv, an area repeatedly targeted by Russian air strikes.
The project cost about $70,754, including around $7,000 from the local budget, with the rest provided through international support.
Local principal Oksana Pomyliaiko said many younger pupils there would receive structured face-to-face schooling for the first time.
Sources: UNITED24 Media
