Pupils across Ukraine<\/a> returned to school on Monday, embarking on a new academic year under the shadow of Russia\u2019s ongoing invasion, with many lessons now taking place underground. <\/p>\n Since the war<\/a> began in February 2022, schools have innovated to keep education alive.<\/p>\n In Bobryk, a village in the northern Sumy region, close to the front line, one school moved its classrooms into a basement two years ago. <\/p>\n This drastic step was taken as air raid alerts could stretch for up to 20 hours, paralysing surface-level classes. <\/p>\n Principal Oleksii Korenivskyi emphasised the critical importance of their work, stating: “We must do everything so this generation is not lost. Time is the only thing you cannot make up. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is our future, and we must give it everything we have.” <\/p>\n Students\u2019 education had already been impacted by Covid<\/a> lockdowns.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n A teacher rings the bell on the first day in an underground school in Kharkiv, Ukraine (Associated Press\/Andrii Marienko)<\/p>\n Housed in an administrative building never designed for teaching, the makeshift underground school features narrow classrooms, often separated only by sheets of heavy plastic. <\/p>\n With no windows or doors, children\u2019s voices blend into a continuous chorus. On Monday, many arrived in traditional embroidered vyshyvanka shirts. <\/p>\n Teachers<\/a>\u2019 desks were adorned with fresh flowers, a customary gift from the children to mark the new academic year.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, this \u2018neighbour\u2019 isn\u2019t going anywhere,\u201d said Oleksii, referring to Russia, when describing how much had to be done to make it happen and that it was worth it. <\/p>\n The once damp and dark basement was refurbished with ventilation, electricity and new flooring.<\/p>\n It is just one example of how Ukrainians are adapting to keep life moving with no end in sight to Russia\u2019s grinding assault.<\/p>\n Bobryk, with a population of about 2,000, has a small school with classes of about 10 children each. This year, only seven sat in the first-grade room.<\/p>\n During the first lesson, the teacher opened a textbook to a map of Ukraine<\/a>. It showed the country whole, without marks of occupied territories. She pointed north to the Sumy region, where Bobryk lies.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Schoolchildren enter an underground school on the first day at school in Kharkiv, Ukraine (Associated Press\/Andrii Marienko)<\/p>\n \u201cOur region is next to Russia,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s so hard, why they bomb us so often \u2014 because we are close to this difficult neighbour.\u201d<\/p>\n The school currently has just over 100 students, though about 10 per cent have left since Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, and more continue to depart. For a school this small, each loss is felt.<\/p>\n Among those preparing to leave is Vlada Mykhailyk, 15, who will soon move to Austria<\/a> with her 11-year-old brother. Their mother decided conditions have become too dangerous.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Russia_Ukraine_War_Knowledge_Day_78698.jpg\")
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![\"Housed](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Russia_Ukraine_War_Knowledge_Day_33922.jpg\")
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