Rebuilding Ukraine: EU and Lithuania team up to provide €15.5 mln for Ukrainian school shelters
Photo: molbuk.ua
The European Commission has dedicated 15 million euros to the construction of new bomb shelters in schools located in high-risk areas of Ukraine. Additionally, Lithuania has contributed an extra 500,000 euros and is responsible for carrying out the project.
The press service of the EC representation reported this.
What is the problem?
The representative of the European Union noted that due to the purposeful destruction of schools, kindergartens, and other educational institutions by Russian troops, every seventh school in Ukraine was damaged or destroyed.
Therefore, about 1.6 million schoolchildren and 0.2 million preschoolers do not attend educational institutions, and about 900,000 children declare their desire to study remotely.
As of the beginning of the full-scale war, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, there were slightly more than 21,000 civil defense protective structures in Ukraine, of which 74% were assessed as ready and partially ready for use as intended, 26% as not ready at all.
This problem was and remains relevant for large cities and small communities; in particular, this applies to schools, kindergartens, and other educational institutions.
What is the solution?
Therefore, the European Commission allocates 15 million euros for constructing new bomb shelters for schools in hot spots of Ukraine and Lithuania, which, in turn, provides an additional 500,000 euros and takes responsibility for implementing the project.
The corresponding agreement was signed by the representative office of the European Commission in Ukraine and the Lithuanian Central Project Management Agency CPVA.
EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova said that this initiative underscores the unwavering commitment to provide the safest possible educational environment for all children in Ukraine.
Photo: molbuk.ua.
In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielus Landsbergis, emphasized that Russia's brutal attacks on the civilian population are an attempt to break the will of Ukrainians to resist. Therefore, Western partners should understand the importance of military aid and financing of civil defense for Ukraine.
How does it work?
As reported, the EU program gives priority to the regions that suffer the most from military actions, namely:
- Chernihiv region,
- Sumy region,
- Mykolaiv region,
- Zaporizhzhia region,
- Kharkiv region,
- Odesa region.
At least five shelters are planned to be built in these frontline areas.
It is noted that thanks to the newly built shelters, about five thousand students of these schools will be able to return to offline education in the next year and a half.
The EU representative emphasized that the Ministry of Education and Culture, partners, and local regional military administrations will help determine priority institutions for which shelters will be built.
Photo: koda.gov.ua
They note that the new shelters will be underground, next to schools. They are also equipped with radiation protection. They will accommodate up to a thousand people and cover approximately 2,000 square meters.
The shelters will have a dual purpose because they will be equipped as spaces where children can:
- continue classes during air raids,
- conduct extracurricular activities.
Together with the Lithuanian CPVA agency, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has already selected the surviving Ukrainian schools with the most significant number of students.
These educational institutions do not have minimal shelters in basements or nearby subway stations, and education is conducted only remotely.
For reference:
It should be noted that a comfortable shelter for 200 people was built in the capital in the Pechersk district. There are comfortable places to sit and sleep.
Furthermore, a subterranean school with a bunker is currently being constructed in Korotychi, located in the Kharkiv region, designed to withstand a direct strike from the S–300 anti-aircraft missile system.
