Ukraine goes underground for the sake of children: 113 schools are being built where an ordinary classroom has become a target

In Ukraine, the construction of a network of underground schools for children who continue to live and study in frontline regions is ongoing. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 113 such facilities are currently at various stages of construction, and more than 60% of them are planned to be completed by September 1, 2026 — by the start of the new academic year.

This is not just an infrastructure project. For a country that has been living under Russian attacks for four years, an underground school becomes the answer to the question of how to preserve education where a regular school building no longer guarantees safety.

What exactly is Ukraine building and why is it important

The Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyi, reported that more than 100 underground schools are already operating in the country. Another 113 are currently under construction, with facilities at various stages of readiness.

Each such school is designed for approximately 500–1000 children. According to the plan, the system of protected educational spaces should provide the opportunity for about 100,000 students to study offline. Primarily, this concerns frontline communities where, due to Russian missile and drone attacks, children often remain in a remote format for years.

The cost of safety

Such projects are expensive. According to Lisovyi, one facility for 500–1000 children can cost approximately 80–120 million hryvnias. This depends on the content, technical requirements, depth of protection, engineering solutions, and conditions of the specific community.

But in the Ukrainian context, this price is no longer perceived as a luxury, but as a new reality of war. An underground school is not a bomb shelter with desks, but an attempt to return children to a normal school day: lessons, live communication, teachers nearby, breaks, the feeling of a class and school, and not just a laptop screen at home.

In 2026, the state allocated 5 billion hryvnias for the construction of such schools. Separately, for the first time, 1 billion hryvnias is allocated for underground kindergartens. Currently, according to the minister, 18 such kindergartens are being built.

Russian strikes have changed the very model of education

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine’s education system has suffered enormous damage. According to data announced by Oksen Lisovyi, more than 400 educational institutions were completely destroyed, and over 4,000 were damaged. Among the affected facilities are higher education institutions: 153 university buildings were damaged, and three university buildings were completely destroyed.

For the Israeli audience, this topic is understandable not only as news from Ukraine. Israelis know well what it means to have a school near the threat of shelling, sirens, shelters, and the need to build civilian life around safety. But the Ukrainian scale is different: it involves hundreds of kilometers of the front, destroyed cities, mass migration, and children growing up in conditions of war.

NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this topic not only as Ukrainian educational news but as part of a broader picture: Ukraine, like Israel, is forced to find ways to maintain normal life under the constant threat from the aggressor. In both cases, the school becomes not just a place of study, but a symbol of societal resilience.

Why this concerns the Ukrainian community in Israel

For repatriates from Ukraine, the Ukrainian community in Israel, and families with relatives remaining in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Mykolaiv, or other dangerous regions, this news has a personal dimension. An underground school is a chance for children to return to face-to-face learning where a regular school building may be too vulnerable.

It is also a signal: Ukraine is not abandoning frontline territories. If the state is building schools, kindergartens, and protected spaces, it means it plans for life in these communities not only during the war but also after it.

What will change by September 1, 2026

If the stated plans are fulfilled, by the start of the new academic year, a significant portion of the 113 underground schools under construction will be able to accept students. More than 60% of the facilities should be ready by September 1. This will not solve the entire problem of education during the war, but it will provide tens of thousands of children access to safer face-to-face learning.

Several difficult questions remain: will the pace of construction be sufficient, will communities be able to maintain such facilities, how will logistics be organized, and how many children will actually return to desks? Especially in cities and towns where families have already become accustomed to living between evacuation, remote learning, and constant anxiety.

The main meaning of the project

Underground schools show how war changes basic notions of normalcy. Previously, a school was associated with an open yard, a bell, bright corridors, and classrooms. Now, in parts of Ukraine, normalcy has to be built underground — with ventilation, protection, autonomous systems, and a plan for alarms.

But the meaning remains the same: children must learn, see teachers, communicate with peers, and not fall out of life just because Russia continues to attack civilian infrastructure.

For Ukraine, this is a question not only of education but also of demographics, the future of frontline regions, and people’s trust that their cities are not abandoned. For Israel, it is another reminder that the safety of children in the 21st century has become a common theme for societies living near war and terror.