Ukraine: second return to war-torn country, bomb threat in Kyiv schools

“3,623,169 children study in our schools” and returned to school this Friday morning, Andriy Yermak, head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, explained on Telegram. Among them, 400,000 students who went abroad due to hostilities continue to receive Ukrainian distance education. This is “the second September 1 after a full-scale invasion. The Russians are trying to do everything to destroy our nation (…), the nation has retained the opportunity for children to go to Ukrainian schools,” Yermak said.

Education will take place in person for 44.9% of students, remotely for 24.4% of them and in a mixed system for 30.7%, he said. In July 2022, MP Natalia Pipa explained to Le Parisien that more than 600,000 students left Ukraine, as did half of the teachers.

While fighting takes place in the east and south of the country, large cities far from the front lines nevertheless regularly suffer from rocket attacks or explosive drones. In total, since the beginning of the war in February 2022, “Russian missiles and bombs” have destroyed 3,750 schools. Some schools came under direct fire, others were closed as a precaution. In a report released Tuesday, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, estimates that more than 1,300 schools have been completely destroyed in areas of Ukraine controlled by the Russian government.

“All educational institutions under control”

Bad joke or real danger? Just hours after the joyful ceremony to kick off the new school year in Ukraine, police have reported bomb threats to schools in Kyiv. “We have received information about the presence of bombs in schools in Kyiv (…) All educational institutions are controlled by the Kyiv police,” she said in Telegram, without making inquiries about the evacuation.

In some major cities, underground shelters have been set up to allow teachers to continue their lessons in the event of airborne warnings of possible bombardments. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-most populous city before the war, 60 classrooms have been set up at metro stations, allowing more than 1,000 children to study full-time, according to the municipality. “Children will be able to communicate with each other, find a common language, communicate. I absolutely support this, ”Irina Loboda, the mother of a schoolboy, rejoiced at Reuters.

“Schoolchildren and teachers are forced to adapt to these realities,” said the commander of the Ukrainian army, Valeriy Zaluzhny, also on Telegram. “But the main thing is that our children learn (…) Because knowledge and culture is what distinguishes us from the enemy. These are the pillars on which today’s front rests and on which the future of our country will be built,” he said.