Fifteen More Underground Schools And Shelters Open Across Ukraine

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) The Ministry of Education and Science said this in a statement on its website, Ukrinform reports.

"More than 5,000 students will have the opportunity to safely attend in-person classes following the completion of construction and outfitting of 15 underground schools and the major renovation of shelters at general secondary education institutions," the ministry said.

The new and upgraded protective structures provide 4,980 places and are located in communities in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions. A significant number of the facilities are located in communities with high or very high security risks. A total of 5,282 students attend the schools concerned.

The ministry recalled that UAH 5 billion in state subsidies has been allocated in 2026 to equip shelters at general secondary education institutions. The funds are being used to build, reconstruct and carry out major repairs on protective structures, including completing projects launched in previous years.

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According to the ministry, this year's funding covers 113 shelters in 22 regions of Ukraine, with priority given to communities facing high and very high security risks.

Overall, nearly UAH 20 billion has been allocated from the state budget to local budgets for the construction and improvement of shelters at educational institutions since 2023. These investments enable communities to build new protective structures, reconstruct existing ones and create conditions for children to return to in-person learning.

Shelter construction and renovation projects are being carried out by local territorial communities, contributing to the financing of the general fund of Ukraine's state budget as part of the Lifting Education Access and Resilience in Times of Need (LEARN) in Ukraine program implemented jointly with the World Bank. The projects are also supported financially by the European Union under the Ukraine Facility.

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