Russian attacks have destroyed an estimated 1 million textbooks
Ukrainian students began their fifth school year since Russia’s invasion on Tuesday, as an air raid alert interrupted the traditional opening ceremony at a school in Kyiv’s Obolon district. Hours after Russian ballistic missiles shook the capital overnight, balloons floated above a schoolyard where bleary-eyed parents and children in festive outfits gathered to music, determined to celebrate the traditional start of the school year, according to the Associated Press. Within seconds, the alert sounded and the crowd dispersed, with children’s laughter and music giving way to distant explosions.
With sirens sounding across Kyiv every few hours, school principal Yevhen Poliakov considered canceling the ceremony, the AP reported. But Lyceum Obolon has a shelter, and he was confident the children could reach safety quickly. They did, the AP reported.
The opening comes with no end to the war in sight. Thousands of schools have adapted since the invasion, shifting to remote or hybrid learning, holding classes in shelters or closing in destroyed or Russian-occupied towns, according to the AP.
Russian attacks have destroyed an estimated 1 million textbooks, and officials are preparing for what could be one of the war’s hardest winters, the AP reported.
Years of war are taking a heavy toll on Ukrainians as Russia escalates its attacks, the AP reported. Ukraine has few effective means of intercepting the growing barrage of high-speed ballistic missiles, while waves of jet-powered Shahed drones stretch some attacks over days.