Children’s Education At Risk As Schools Are Severely Damaged Amid War

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, children’s education in Ukraine has been under attack. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has greatly damaged schools in Ukraine and put many children and school staff at risk. 

Russia’s war on Ukraine has had a huge effect on children’s education, with thousands of schools and kindergartens being destroyed, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on 9 November. 

The 71-page report by HRW, titled Tanks On The Playground, revealed the plight of children in Ukraine. According to HRW, more than 3,790 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Children’s education at risk in Ukraine

The future of Ukrainian children is at great risk because of the war between Russian forces and Ukrainian forces. The war has been interrupting access to education for millions of children in Ukraine. 

Most educational facilities and schools in Ukraine were severely damaged because of aerial attacks, artillery shelling, and rocket strikes. 

HRW said in a report that Russian forces frequently looted schools they occupied, which amounted to a war crime. 

Hugh Williamson, the director of the Europe & Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch, said, “Ukrainian children have paid a high price in this war because attacks on education are attacks on their future.”

Hugh Williamson condemned the damage and destruction of schools in Ukraine by Russian forces. The HRW report, which focuses on the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Mykolayiv regions of Ukraine, revealed that Russian forces used cluster bombs to attack educational facilities. HRW published the report by compiling documentation at 50 education facilities in these four regions.

The war has severely disrupted Ukrainian children’s education. The attacks on power infrastructure by Russian forces also affected remote learning.

Schools damaged by Russian forces

When Russian forces captured the schools in Ukraine, they looted desktop computers, laptop, televisions, interactive whiteboards, other school equipment, and heating systems. They also painted graffiti on walls, expressing their hate toward Ukrainians.

When Russian soldiers occupied Borodianska school in the Kyivska region, they painted anti-Ukrainian graffiti and a flag with a Nazi swastika on the walls. The classrooms were filled with blood. Russian forces also used schools to detain civilians. 

It is important to help children in Ukraine. The schools must ensure the equitable reconstruction of schools in all regions of Ukraine.