In Kharkov, children are finally returning to class — an underground bunker

Children enter the new bunker classroom for the first time in Kharkov, June 7. Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph

Children exploring their new classroom in a village near Kharkov can barely remember the last time they had face-to-face lessons.

The Covid lockdown kept them away to school for two years; Russian bombs did the same to two more.

Their education suffered, and they missed their friends while they worked hard in solitary online learning.

Their isolation must end and classes begin. will resume operations in the coming months, but with a wartime twist: they will be in an underground bunker.

Authorities in the shelled Ukrainian region of Kharkov are trying to move schools underground, building hundreds of shelters for classes so that protected learning can resume from a Russian attack.

Classes should begin in September, but schools are already conducting preparatory lessons.

Lessons were disrupted first by Covid and then by war. Photo: David Rosa for The Telegraph

«When they come back for the first time, they hug each other and their teachers,» says Svetlana, the school's principal, as students arrive for the holidays in their new underground classroom.

«You feel like they've missed everything.»

The underground schools are one of the precautions Kharkiv is taking as it shifts normal life into protracted war mode over a conflict that could drag on for years.

The second city of Ukraine is a hostage to its location. It is just 12 miles from the Russian border and a regime that has repeatedly attacked it.

Putin's forces have invaded the Kharkov region twice: once at the start of the war and again a month ago. More than 200,000 people fled their homes. Towns such as Vovchansk were destroyed and the region was hit by rockets, drones and bombs.

The new bunker school is protected by heavy steel doors. Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph

Kharkov cannot be moved, so everyday life and local government must somehow adapt to the predicament of living with such a neighbor.

“This neighbor [Russia] will not suddenly disappear , says Larisa, a school teacher who declined to give her full name.

— With projects like this shelter, we need to be ready at any moment. to protect yourself.”

The invasion has not spared schools either. In total, about 30 percent of educational institutions in the Kharkiv region have already been damaged in the fighting.

Missiles Only 40 Seconds Away

Kharkiv is so close to the Russian border that the flight time of a destructive S-300 missile from the Russian city of Belgorod is estimated at only 40 seconds.

That is too little time to warn residents, or schoolchildren. By the time air raid sirens sound in the city, any incoming missile has already struck.

Olga Bespalova, director of education for the Kharkov region, said: “The main question is that we need to build a chain of orphanages in the Kharkov region to restore the educational process.

“There is a need now to have children in orphanages. It is necessary to organize the educational process underground, because they clearly do not have time to go to the shelter.”

More than 300 school shelters have already been prepared. Some are new, some are renovated, and some are converted basements. To resume classes in all areas, another 1200 are needed.

“We want to create a normal life for children,” says regional governor Oleg Sinegubov.

“Therefore, we are creating new underground schools and kindergartens so that children can study not only online.”

Vital for life of the region

Education is not the only priority that makes it possible to give the city a semblance of normal life, he says.

Supporting business in difficult conditions is vital for the life of the region and the finances of Ukraine.

Mr. Sinegubov said he had recently spent a lot of time trying to persuade a major supermarket chain not to leave the region.

Faced with air raids, power outages and the threat of further invasion, investors and businessmen are understandably cautious.

He said: “We are urging them to stay because it is an important part of keeping our economic situation healthy. «

Cheap lines of credit and insurance will help, he says. Improving security is a top priority. Officials believe the threat from S-300/400 missiles has subsided over the past week following border strikes using Himars missile launchers, but everyone says the city needs more air defense capabilities.

Power plants destroyed

Electricity is another problem. All power plants in the Kharkov region have been destroyed, and across the country the Russian offensive against Ukrainian power plants and grids is bearing fruit.

Power outages due to power rationing

The country experienced large-scale power outages last week due to power rationing.

“We are catastrophically short of electricity for our needs,” says Sergei Kovalenko, executive director of the Ukrainian private electricity distribution company Yasno.

Both residents and businesses have suffered greatly.

“The situation is very difficult because we have a huge shortage of electricity,” — says Igor Terekhov, mayor of the city.

Deadly strikes, such as the one at a shopping center late last month, left at least 18 people dead. , are worrying city residents, he admitted.

Still, while some have left, many have remained. The city has been conquered, but is far from empty. Many shops and restaurants are open.

Mr Terekhov said: “We don’t have any panic in the city. We have some pressure, maybe some concerns among people. We have clear confidence in our military in what they do, and this is our daily job: to work.”

Mr Terekhov was elected mayor just months before the Russian invasion in 2022. At that time, no one foresaw the war, he said.

He said: “I had my plans, ambitious plans, but unfortunately because of the war we had to postpone them all.”

At the other end of the city, at cemetery No. 18 in Kharkov, there is another piercing sign of military reality.

Hundreds of recent graves on the military base are decorated with national flags and brigade insignia. According to rough estimates, there are about 1200 such graves, and new funerals take place every day.

Flags and flowers are littered No. 18 Kharkov Cemetery . Photo: David Rose for The Telegraph

Few relatives and friends were able to mourn the open coffin of a soldier named Vladimir, who died last week with the 110th Territorial Defense Brigade on the Kupyansky Front.

Vladimir's house was in Lugansk. in Russian-occupied territory behind the 620-mile front line that runs like a scar through Ukraine.

He could not be buried at home, and his Luhansk relatives could not cross the front to attend the funeral.

Mr Terekhov said: “Our main task is to ensure that these lives are not paid for nothing.”

The Russians may return

Despite the apparent slowdown in the latest offensive, residents know that the Russians can return.

Mr. Terekhov: “They will not be able to return only when we win. During a war, there is always some possibility that they will return.

“We need to understand this very well. The war continues, and we need to be prepared.»

Teachers at the school with the new underground classroom hope that, as proud as they are of the facility, this is only a temporary phenomenon.

Svetlana says: “We dream of our victory and of peace. Children cannot continue their education underground.”