The government is allocating billions for shelters: 79 new facilities in schools and kindergartens
20 April 15:25
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a new funding package for educational safety— 79 underground shelters in schools and kindergartens. The total funding amounts to billions of hryvnias from the state budget
Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced the decision, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
How much money and for what
Schools
- 2.7 billion UAH — for shelters in schools
- 61 projects — new funding
- Another 30 projects were funded earlier (in March)
Total in 2026:
- 113 shelters
- nearly 5 billion UAH
Kindergartens
- 972 million UAH
- 18 underground shelters
Regions:
- Vinnytsia
- Dnipropetrovsk
- Zaporizhzhia
- Kyiv
- Mykolaiv
- Odesa
- Sumy
- Kharkiv
- Kherson region
Priorities: where and why
The main focus is on frontline communities.
This means:
- regions at high risk of shelling
- schools that cannot operate in person without shelters
- facilities that need to be completed by 2026
What this will mean for children
According to government estimates:
- tens of thousands of children will be able to return to in-person learning
- breaks due to air raid alerts will decrease
- the blended learning format will become more widespread
In fact, this is not just about safety, but also about:
- restoring the normal educational process
- reducing learning loss
The Role of International Partners
The program is implemented with the support of the World Bank and the LEARN joint initiative.
Funding model:
- government → grants to communities
- communities → construction and repairs
- partners → co-financing and support
Separately, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is securing over 25 million euros from the EU. These funds will also be allocated to the development of preschool education, the construction of shelters, and the establishment of daycare centers.
Challenges and risks
Despite the scale of funding, questions remain:
- the pace of construction in frontline areas
- monitoring of fund usage
- compliance of shelters with modern safety standards
Experience from previous years shows that the implementation of such projects often depends on the capacity of local authorities.
