How brave Ukrainian children go to school underground to stay safe from the carnage of the invasion
THESE are the brave Ukrainian children who go to school underground – to stay safe from Russian bombing.
Thousands of children aged six to sixteen learn in converted subway stations, protected from the carnage above ground.
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Five underground schools have been opened in Kharkov, Ukraine second largest city, just 15 miles from the border with Russia.
Teacher Olenna Volodomyr told The Sun: “It’s strange to teach underground, but it’s the only way to teach face-to-face.
“It’s much better for the children.
“The children feel safe here, we feel safe here and the parents feel better because they know their children are safe.”
Kharkiv repelled a tank attack on the first day of the war in 2022 and since then the country has faced a furious barrage of rockets, airstrikes and artillery.
At one point, 160,000 people lived in the city’s subway stations when the bombardment was at its worst.
Most of the last two years since then Putin After unleashing his bloodbath invasion, Olenna taught her students online.
But she said it was “ten times” harder than teaching remotely Covidas the frequent air raid sirens forced the students to take cover.
Now her underground classes are rarely disturbed except by the muffled rumble of subway trains, hidden by newly built classrooms.
Staff asked The Sun not to name the station we visited for fear Russia would target the entrances.
We saw a once large platform converted into half a dozen classrooms, with a nurse’s office and a break room, complete with foam mats and toys.
‘Close the sky’
The marble-clad walls were covered with colorful posters, including some warning children not to touch the landmines or bombs scattered around their homes.
Instead of windows for fresh air, huge exhaust ducts run along the ceilings of the classrooms.
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Valerii Shepel, deputy head of Kharkov’s education department, said 2,200 students were enrolled in the five “metro schools” and thousands more wanted to join.
He added: “We plan to open more because demand is so high. We want one in every neighborhood.”
Officials realize there is little hope the war will end soon.
Western experts warned this week that Putin remains determined to conquer everything Ukraine.
But they said he has no “meaningful plan” other than to slog it out for as long as it takes to overwhelm Ukraine with Russian mass.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov told The Sun today that half of the city’s 200 residents schools had already been destroyed by the war.
About 150,000 residents have been left homeless by the Russian bombings and half of the city’s hospitals and medical facilities have been affected.
More than 300 civilians have been killed and nearly 1,000 injured.
The mayor urged Ukraine’s allies to send air defense weapons to “close the airspace” to Russian bombing.
He said: “People have been burned alive. The last attack on our city burned seven people in their sleep. It was horrible.
“Three of them were children, including a 10-month-old boy.”
He added: “The most important thing for me is to keep our people safe.
“We need modern, advanced air defense systems to close the airspace to these Russian missiles.
“We can do everything else ourselves.”
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