In Ukraine, 68% of educational institutions have bomb shelters, but it's not enough – Prime Minister

Denys Shmyhal, Prime Minister of Ukraine, has stated that 68% of educational institutions in Ukraine are equipped with shelters of different types, but local authorities must still work more in this area.

Source: speech of Shmyhal at the meeting of the Ukrainian government

Quote: "At the moment, 68% of educational institutions are equipped with shelters of different types. They can accommodate 4.7 million students and teachers. But this is not enough. Local authorities must be more active. The Ukrainian government allocated the funds for bomb shelters back in April – 1.5 billion hryvnias [approximately US$39 819 485 – ed.].

The bomb shelters are most needed in Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa oblasts. These regions are at risk due to Russian attacks. The shelters must be set up there as soon as possible."

Details: Smyhal added that in 2023, the Ukrainian government plans to equip almost 1,500 shelters. In total, 5,400 shelters must be built throughout Ukraine. All of them must meet the criteria of reliability, barrier-free accessibility and energy efficiency. These include basement shelters, ground-based structures near schools or kindergartens, and underground monolithic shelters with a high level of protection.

Shmyhal noted that regional administrations will regularly conduct monitoring of the security situation in the hromadas in Ukraine. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories – ed.] Depending on the threat level, one of the learning formats will be implemented: in-person, online or mixed..

Quote: "There will be no in-person learning in the places where there is a threat to the lives and health of the children. Local authorities understand the situation in their hromadas best of all, so it is up to them to take final decisions in their areas of responsibility."

Background:

• There are 1,056 state educational facilities in the city of Kyiv that are ready for the new school year. They are ready to accept over 405,800 children and young people of all ages.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!