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2w ago

Kyiv Schools Begin Year in Underground Shelters as Air Raids Rattle the City

Sustained high-speed drone and missile barrages are undermining safe, continuous schooling in Kyiv.

Yevhen Yurko, 41, and his son Darii, a 6-year-old first-grader, pose for a photo in the courtyard of a public school damaged by a Russian attack, in Kyiv, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov) CORRECTION: Name of child corrected from Dayri to Darii.
School children enter an underground school on their first day back, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)
Teachers conduct online lessons for elementary students from a public school damaged by a Russian attack, in Kyiv, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Dan Bashakov)
School children enter an underground school on their first day back, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

Overview

  • On Tuesday, several Kyiv schools opened the new academic year with classes held in basements so students would not have to relocate during repeated air-raid alerts.
  • Local tallies reported intense strikes that set off dozens of alerts over days and caused civilian deaths and injuries, prompting schools to prioritize shelter upgrades and emergency routines.
  • The Education Ministry has scheduled mixed modes for thousands of schools, with 8,424 planned for in-person lessons, 2,211 in blended formats, and 1,306 fully remote, reflecting uneven safety across regions.
  • Enrollment has fallen sharply, with about 243,398 first-graders this year compared with roughly 400,000 in 2021 and more than 1.8 million Ukrainian children reported living abroad, which leaves many empty seats and strains some local systems.
  • Officials warn that newer jet-powered Shahed drones and repeated infrastructure damage — hundreds of Kyiv education facilities hit since 2022 — increase the risk of long-term learning loss and complicate preparations for winter blackouts and shelter needs.