Ukraine has sustained almost 2,000 attacks on education since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, with some 270 this year alone, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, a day after a strike at a school being used to distribute aid.
Since the start of the academic year, “children have experienced an average of 34 hours of air raid alarms during school time, equivalent to more than 13 per cent of scheduled learning” up to 20 October, with some regions impacted by 60-plus hours of alerts, said UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires.
Meanwhile, the UN’s top aid official in Ukraine condemned Monday’s attack on a school and shelter in Komyshuvakha, Zaporizhzhia region, that reportedly killed at least 29 civilians.
The majority of the victims were residents “who came to get aid at a local school and employees of the local administration”, said Matthias Schmale, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine. “Subsequent strikes at the same location killed two rescuers and four police staff who responded to the first attack,” he continued, noting that nearly 50 people are still missing.
by UN News Air raid alerts and attacks on schools: the devastating face of education in Ukraine
