Ten underground schools are currently being built in the Zaporizhia region of southeastern Ukraine to protect thousands of children from Russian air strikes.
Local authorities in Zaporizhia are building bunkers to provide safe in-person learning opportunities for children who have witnessed the war since the large-scale Russian invasion in February 2022.
The aim is to accommodate almost 45,000 students by the end of 2024, reported the Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne.
Region must “build around 20 schools”
The head of the Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration, Ivan Fedorov, said that construction work is currently underway at six of the ten schools in the oblast.
“We are doing everything to create safe conditions for the educational process in Zaporizhia, despite the difficulties and challenges,” Fedorov explained.
In addition, repairs are currently being carried out on 20 existing underground shelters at schools in the region.
However, further measures are needed, says Fedorov.
“To meet the needs of the region, we need to build about 20 schools,” Fedorov explained.
“But the plans are limited by several factors: time, money and a sufficient number of contractors willing to do the work. We expect to have about 10 buildings built by the end of the year.”
Even today, more than two years after the invasion began, Russian missiles are attacking Ukraine.
According to the Deputy Minister of Education of Ukraine, currently every seventh school in the country has been damaged as a result of the war, and many schools are forced to switch to online classes.
The non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch said this had “put enormous strain on Ukraine’s education system.”
The underground schools are needed in Zaporizhia – home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian forces in May 2022 – as it is one of the most significant conflict zones.
“These are not just concrete walls”
According to Fedorov, the underground schools will be designed to provide a welcoming atmosphere for children and will be equipped with desks, furniture and blackboards.
“These are not just concrete walls,” he said. “It will be a real educational space underground that the children will love to go to.”
One of the ten shelters will be built on the site of an existing educational institution in Zaporizhia called School No. 88, which previously had no place where students could safely study on site.
The building is scheduled to be completed this fall and will accommodate 500 students. It will be seven meters underground and will also serve as a 1,500 square meter nuclear shelter.
According to news channel Euronews, school principal Liudmyla Zlatova said parents had responded “very well” to the plans.
“Our school is the only one in this neighborhood; there is no other alternative for the children,” said Zlatova.
The mother of one of the children currently learning online at School Number 88 said the students were also “happy” at the prospect of returning to face-to-face classes.
“We were very happy and the children were happy, they miss live communication,” said mother Liubov Pashina.
“Nowadays, children’s eyesight is deteriorating because they are constantly sitting in front of the computer and their eyes do not get any rest.”
The underground schools in Zaporizhia are not the first to be built in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Several have already been built in metro stations across Kharkiv.
According to the Ukrainian newspaper Euromaidan Press, underground maternity wards are also being built in the country to ensure the safe birth of babies.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees is working to rebuild homes damaged by Russian attacks. In a recent interview with Dezeen, project leader Richard Evans said the aim is to rebuild them to a better standard than before the war.
To mark two years of conflict in Ukraine, Dezeen asked architects and designers in the country how they are coping with wartime.
Photos courtesy of Zaporizhia Regional State Administration via Wikimedia Commons.
