Kyiv Schools Shift Permanently to Basement as Russian Attacks Intensify

On the first day of the new school year, the Ukrainian Global School in Kyiv announced that classes will remain in its underground shelter rather than moving to surface classrooms after an air-raid alert. The decision follows a recent surge in Russian aerial strikes that have made routine evacuations “unsustainable,” according to a letter to parents.

CNN

Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Since early 2025 Moscow has deployed Iranian-designed Shahed drones and newer jet-powered drones that Ukrainian defenses struggle to intercept. Continuous attacks have turned Kyiv’s sirens into a daily reality, forcing schools, businesses and cultural sites to adapt.

CNN

• Air-raid alerts: 60 alerts recorded between midnight Thursday and noon Tuesday, lasting roughly 47 hours.

CNN

• Casualties in Kyiv region (mid-week): at least 53 deaths and more than 100 injuries.

Al Jazeera (website)

• Warehouse explosions: reports cite 37–38 fatalities in separate strikes on ammunition depots.

CNN

• First-grader enrollment: 243,398 children began first grade, far below the 400,000 in 2021.

CNN

• Displacement: UNICEF estimates over 1.8 million Ukrainian children now live abroad, with many more internally displaced.

CNN

• Cultural losses: a Kyiv printing press that produced 1.3 million schoolbooks was destroyed, and roughly one-third of all books printed in Ukraine this year have been lost.

BBC News

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: condemned the attacks on civilians, called the targeting of children “despicable,” and pledged criminal investigations into officials who allowed ammunition to be stored near residential areas.

CNN

• Ministry of Education: highlighted the reduced first-grader cohort and emphasized the need to maintain continuity of learning despite the security environment.

CNN

Six-year-old Svyatoslav attended his first-grade class in a shelter opposite a building damaged by a Russian drone.

CNN

Casualty figures from recent warehouse strikes vary: NPR reports 37 deaths, CNN 38, and Al Jazeera at least 12. No source provides a definitive, independently verified total, leaving the exact human toll unclear.

CNN

Keeping classes underground eliminates repeated evacuations, allowing instruction to continue. The shift underscores how the war has reshaped everyday life for Ukrainian children, many of whom have never experienced schooling in peacetime. Damage to publishing facilities threatens textbook supplies, further jeopardizing learning outcomes.

CNN

• “There is an air raid alert right now. Unfortunately, the Russians are despicable … even among enemies, there is usually an understanding that children are children,” — Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian president

CNN

• “Those who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their decisions,” — Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian president

NPR

• “Means of attack always outpace means of defense. We will certainly need to adapt. It will take time,” — Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of Zelensky’s Presidential Office

NPR