War-torn Ukraine plans to build first underground school

Ukraine's first underground school will be built in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov has said.

"Such a shelter will allow thousands of children to continue their in-person education safely even during missile threats," BBC quotes Terekhov as saying.

More than 360 educational facilities have been destroyed and over 3,000 damaged in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

According to the UN children’s agency Unicef, only a third of Ukraine's schoolchildren currently study in-person, amid continuing deadly Russian missile and drone attacks as well as shelling.

Many of those pupils have been forced to attend classes in underground metro stations and other makeshift shelters - often without proper heating.

Last week, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency said many schools in the 27-member bloc were struggling to integrate children who have fled the war in Ukraine.

It said there were currently about 1.3 million Ukrainian children in the EU.

In the November 5 post on social media, the Kharkiv mayor announced that "it is here that we plan to build the first underground school in Ukraine".

Terekhov said the school "will meet the most modern requirements for defensive buildings".

He stressed that the city authorities "will not reduce educational expenditure by a single hryvnia [Ukraine's currency] this year or next year, despite the lack of budget funds".

The mayor gave no details on when the underground school would open, and how many pupils would be able to study there.