Kyiv school starts year online after Russian strike leaves crater in yard
A Kyiv school damaged in a Russian attack begins the year online, with a small in-person ceremony and shelter drills.
The new academic year began under grey skies and the shadow of war at Gymnasium No. 20 in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district. A small group of children gathered in the scarred schoolyard on September 1 to ring the traditional first bell, but classes themselves were held online after a Russian strike on August 27 damaged the building.
The schoolyard still bears the marks of the attack: a large crater, shattered windows, and debris scattered across the grounds. Municipal workers were seen clearing glass and pieces of the damaged facade as parents filmed the modest ceremony for students who could not attend in person.
Principal Viktoria Oleksandrivna Reznikova said the decision to go remote was forced by safety concerns. "Just four days ago we were hit and we are still removing and hauling away large pieces of debris," she said. The school has a shelter, but it needs preparation to comfortably accommodate children during alerts.
Among those at the gate was six-year-old Darii Yurko, a first grader who spent the previous night in a shelter with his father during the attack. He came to have his first-day photograph taken near the school, even though lessons would be online. "At night, when there are rockets it is not scary," he said. "It is not scary when I am asleep."
His father, Yevhen, explained the family's choice: "The child still wanted to be near the school and take that first photograph of the first school bell, even though it was like this, at least some memory of this day would remain."
Mother Oksana Herasymchuk voiced the frustration of many parents. "Again, September 1, we are going online and we don't know what will happen next," she said. "The children are very upset that they are forced to change their learning conditions. They were crying for a while because their school and their familiar walls were destroyed."
Shortly before 10 a.m., an air raid alert sent teachers, parents, and children filing into the school shelter — a routine now familiar to Kyiv residents. Teachers later conducted a single online lesson for first graders from their classrooms.
The school hopes to resume in-person learning in about two weeks, once the shelter is ready and debris is cleared.