€15.5 mln from EC and Lithuania: Ukraine gets funds for building bomb shelters in schools
he European Commission and Lithuania allocated financial assistance for the construction of bomb shelters in Ukraine (Getty Images)
The European Commission and Lithuania allocated 15.5 million euros for the construction of new bomb shelters for schools in hot spots of Ukraine.
"The European Union is allocating EUR 15 million to build new school shelters in Ukraine. Lithuania is contributing an additional EUR 0.5 million and taking responsibility for implementing the project," the statement said.
It is noted that such an agreement was signed between the representative office of the European Commission in Ukraine and the Lithuanian central project management agency CPVA.
The Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová said that "Russia’s war of aggression is robbing thousands of Ukrainian children of a normal life and education".
"Our most recent initiative underlines the EU’s unwavering commitment to ensure an educational environment that is as safe as possible for all children in Ukraine," she added.
What regions are to get schools equipped with shelters
Due to the targeted destruction of schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions by the aggressor, every seventh school in Ukraine is damaged or destroyed. A generation of children who do not attend school at all is growing in the country.
About 1.6 million schoolboys and 0.2 million preschoolers do not attend educational institutions, and about 900,000 children declare their desire to study remotely. The EU program gives priority to the regions that suffer the most from military actions, namely:
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Chernihiv region;
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Sumy region;
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Mykolaiv region;
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Zaporizhzhia region;
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Kharkiv region;
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Odesa region.
At least five shelters are planned to be built in these frontline areas.
The work of schools during the of war
It is worth noting that last year the Ministry of Education predicted that 80-85% of Ukrainian schools would be able to start the academic year in a mixed format or full-time. We are talking about regions that are in the relative rear.
They also planned to build separate underground shelters on the territory of several schools in Kyiv.
Russian occupation forces shelled the city of Kharkiv on the evening of January 2. The rocket hit a school building in Osnovyansk district.
