As a new school year begins in Ukraine, not all students are able to study in ordinary classrooms. Some have been moved into bunkers or subway stations, like in the city of Kharkiv.
By DW
Ukraine's children are back to school—in the middle of a war zone (photo: DW) DW
A safe space to learn: Summer vacation is over and it is time for children to be back in school. Near the frontlines, classes are often held online or in hybrid sessions. In Kharkiv, authorities have made an effort to create safe classrooms in subway stations, where children can learn in a protected environment. This teacher is escorting one young pupil to her new classroom.Colourful classrooms: A teacher welcomes her flock back to school. Teachers are working hard to offer their class a bright and cheerful space, despite the gloomy circumstances, so the children can have as peaceful and sheltered a learning environment as possible.Learning together: Approximately 3.7 million Ukrainian children and youth are going to school this year. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has wished all students and teachers a successful new school year. "We are undertaking every effort to restore security in the country," he wrote in a short message on X, formerly Twitter.A visit from the mayor: Igor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv, stops by one of the underground classrooms in a subway station. A total of 60 such classrooms have been created, allowing some 1,000 children to go back to school and resume in-person lessons. Colourful drawings vs shelling: It's important for children to have a chance to learn together and consult their teachers directly. But in most major cities, schools are having to hold classes online. Authorities in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, fear schools could make an easy target — but they have persevered to find an interim solution.Important exchange: "The children are able to meet up, find a common language, have conversations," says a mother visiting the school in the subway station at the heart of Ukraine's second-largest city. "I fully support it," she says with a sigh of relief. Shuttle home: Once the school day has ended, the safest way available to ferry the children home is by bus—like this one waiting in the main square to take them from the metro station housing their school to their homes
