Published TUESDAY, October 24, 2023: 'Subway Schooling' Pictures by award winning ZUMA Press photographers Ashley Chan and Madeleine Kelly: In Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv, where the threat of Russian missile attack is ever-present, local authorities have implemented a novel way to get kids back into school in safety. Covid then the invasion meant Kharkiv could offer little in-person education. Now a scheme brings it deep underground. In a bright decorated classroom in Kharkiv, only 19 miles from the Russian border, children attend classes in one of the city's Soviet-era metro stations. A bus brings the children to the Station where teachers lead them underground to begin their second school year during wartime. The U.N. Children's Fund stated that Russian air attacks have destroyed 1,300 schools since President Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and many more damaged. Welcome to 'Subway Schooling'
© zReportage.com Issue #911 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY, October 24, 2023: 'Subway Schooling' Pictures by award winning ZUMA Press photographers Ashley Chan and Madeleine Kelly: In Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv, where the threat of Russian missile attack is ever-present, local authorities have implemented a novel way to get kids back into school in safety. Covid then the invasion meant Kharkiv could offer little in-person education. Now a scheme brings it deep underground. In a bright decorated classroom in Kharkiv, only 19 miles from the Russian border, children attend classes in one of the city's Soviet-era metro stations. A bus brings the children to the Station where teachers lead them underground to begin their second school year during wartime. The U.N. Children's Fund stated that Russian air attacks have destroyed 1,300 schools since President Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and many more damaged. Welcome to 'Subway Schooling'

Two schoolboys are seen with their teacher while waiting to be picked up by a school bus and taken to class within the underground class in the Kharkiv metro. In Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv, where the threat of Russian missile attack is ever-present, local authorities have implemented a novel way to get kids back into school in safety.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

After underground classes, young students wait outside a Kharkiv metro station for a bus to take them home. As the eastern city has a close proximity to the Russian border, officials fear schools can be an easy targets.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

Children prepare to head home as they are picked up by school bus after classes at the metro station. Kharkiv officials built 60 classrooms in 5 metro stations in Kharkiv, allowing more than 1,000 children to go to school.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

A young boy bounces down the metro stairs leading to his classroom on the first day of school. The classrooms were constructed in the underground metro, safe from Russian shelling.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

Teachers and students during a lesson in the underground classroom at Kharkiv metro station.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

A girl seen taking stationery from her pencil case at a classroom in the metro station. Officials built 60 classrooms in 5 metro stations in Kharkiv, allowing more than 1,000 children to go to school.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

School teacher with young students in a classroom at the Kharkiv metro station.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

Two girls are taking a break during classes in the underground metro school. As the eastern city has a close proximity to the Russian border, officials fear schools can be an easy target. Official built 60 classrooms in 5 metro stations in Kharkiv, allowing more than 1,000 children to go back to school.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

Young students raise their hands during a classroom lesson on the first day of school in Kharkiv. The classroom, built deep in the underground metro, is safe from Russian shelling.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

Boys play with seen Lego style toy bricks in a classroom at a Kharkiv metro station. As the eastern city has a close proximity to the Russian border, official fear schools can be an easy target.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

A student coloring the Ukrainian trident in an underground classroom at the Kharkiv metro station.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

A boy seen consulting a teacher about his drawing in a classroom at the metro station.
© Ashley Chan/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire

A young girl sits in her classroom on the first day of school as the Kharkiv mayor, IHOR TEREKHOV, visits. Young students often wear traditional Ukraine clothes on the first day of school.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

A young girls looks out into the hallway from her classroom in the underground metro in Kharkiv. Deep underground and secure, the classroom protects the children from the almost daily Russian shelling.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire

Desks and toys are set up for young students in the underground Kharkiv metro station. The classrooms were constructed in the metro, safe from Russian shelling.
© Madeleine Kelly/ZUMA Press Wire