Russian attacks are disrupting school days in and around Kyiv, where only 40% of schools in the capital can shelter all their pupils at once, Kyiv City Hall told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
UMKA Grand School, a private school outside the capital, kept classes going below ground through five air raid alerts during an AFP visit. All 130 pupils moved into an area originally planned for a music school, now equipped with desks across rooms and corridors. The shelter has four entrances to help children get inside.
That capacity is unusual. AFP reported that parents have raised concerns with an education watchdog about other shelters where children cannot get drinking water or use toilets. The complaints highlight how differently equipped the spaces are for children who must take cover during lessons.
A drone struck UMKA’s playground days before the visit while pupils were sheltering. Security-camera footage obtained by AFP showed a grandfather looking upward and running seconds before the explosion. Separate videos from an empty classroom showed shattered windows and glass scattered across the room.
Varvara, a pupil at the school, told AFP that classmates comfort one another with hugs and words when they are frightened. Teachers send parents group messages and photos of their children working underground. School director Valentyna Kurinna said staff try to reassure pupils despite their own fear. “We spend more time in shelter than in classrooms,” Kurinna told AFP.
In an earlier account of Kyiv’s daytime attacks, European Union Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová told Euronews in an interview published Oct. 19 that daylight strikes had become more frequent since late August. She said air raid warnings had also interrupted school lessons.
At UMKA, an all-clear after two hours underground allowed pupils to return outside for a 15-minute break, AFP reported.
