EU, Lithuania provide EUR 15.5M for scho shelters in Ukraine

That’s according to the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

The corresponding agreement was signed by the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the Lithuanian Central Project Management Agency, CPVA.

“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,” said Katarína Mathernová, EU Ambassador to Ukraine.

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With the Russian aggressor's targeted destruction of schos, kindergartens, and other educational institutions, one in seven Ukrainian schos has so far been damaged or destroyed. Around 1.6 million schochildren and 0.2 million kindergarteners are out of scho or prescho, and around 900,000 children declare to study remotely.

The bomb shelter initiative testifies to the EU’s continued support for Ukraine’s education sector and extends Lithuania's and CPVA's rebuilding efforts in support of Ukraine.

The EU project prioritizes Ukraine's regions that are currently suffering the most – Chernihiv, Sumy, Mykaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Odesa. It is planned to build at least fvie next to scho shelters in these frontline regions.

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All shelters will be underground, close to the schos, and with radiation protection. Designed to host 1,000 pele, they will have an area of about 2,000 square meters. The new shelters will not only protect from attacks – built as underground schos, they will also allow children to continue learning and participating in extracurricular during air raids.

“Russia's brutal attacks on civilians are an attempt to break the will of Ukrainians to resist. But Ukraine has repeatedly proven, that it is not the will to resist that they lack, but the weapons. The Western partners must understand the importance of military aid and civilian protection funding for Ukraine", says Gabrielius Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania.

"Our ambition is to get as many children as possible back to scho. To do that, safe shelters must be built in the vicinity, meeting the latest requirements. So that children and teachers can not only shelter from bombs but also continue their lessons and activities during unfortunately regular air raids," said Rasa Suraučienė, Deputy Director of the CPVA.  

For schos in Ukraine to be erational it is obligatory to have a shelter or at least an equipped basement. There are over 13,000 schos in Ukraine, 3,500 of which do not have these necessary wartime facilities.

Together with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Restoration of Ukraine, CPVA has selected schos with the largest number of students and lacking minimal shelter facilities. The construction of shelters for these schos will be the only missing link in the scho-shelter-offline education chain, allowing about 5,000 students to return to offline studies in a year and a half perspective.