Kyiv children turn to online schools from Russian-occupied cities as air raids disrupt classes

Schools from Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast and Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast continue teaching Ukrainian children remotely, even though their home cities are under Russian occupation. Now, some families in Kyiv are turning to them in search of more consistent lessons.

The unusual transfers highlight a growing dilemma for Ukrainian parents: how to keep children safe from Russian attacks without sacrificing their education.

Schools without classrooms

Viktor's son was attending sixth grade at a school in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district, an area frequently targeted by Russian drones.

As air raid alerts increasingly disrupted lessons, Viktor began looking for an alternative. He eventually transferred his son to an online school originally based in Dniprorudne, a city occupied by Russian forces since March 2022.

“Because of the constant air raid alerts in Kyiv, there are practically no lessons,” Viktor told hromadske.

He said online classes were regularly canceled, while children attending school in person often spent much of their time sitting in shelters instead of studying.

“Everything has come down to homework, but there can be no real education without a teacher's guidance,” he said.

At the Dniprorudne school, teachers and students connect from different parts of Ukraine and abroad. Classes continue online during air raid alerts, and the school also provides meetings with a psychologist.

Another family made a similar decision.

Valentyna lives in Kyiv Oblast and previously drove her daughter to school in the capital's Holosiivskyi district. But air raid alerts frequently disrupted the journey and the school day.

Although the school had a renovated, ventilated shelter, Valentyna said it was too cramped for effective teaching.

“There wasn't enough room for desks, so the children were seated wherever possible,” she said.

Her daughter now attends an online Ukrainian school originally based in Bakhmut, a city devastated and occupied by Russian forces.

The school continues remote lessons during air raid alerts, while allowing students facing an immediate threat to move to safety and rejoin later.

When a shelter becomes a classroom

According to Kyiv city officials, 95% of the capital's schools have their own shelters, while the remainder use nearby protective facilities.

But having a shelter does not necessarily mean it is suitable for teaching.

At one school in Darnytskyi district, principal Tetiana Pushkariova has organized lessons for 17 elementary-school classes in a shelter designed to accommodate 1,000 people.

Parents helped purchase folding camping tables so that children could continue studying underground.

Older students follow a hybrid schedule, alternating between a week of remote learning and a week at school.

Pushkariova said the arrangements allow younger children to attend school every day, but acknowledged that teaching in crowded shelters remains difficult.

Classes sit close together, making it hard for students to concentrate. Dividers can reduce noise but also create concerns about keeping evacuation routes clear.

“We did everything we could,” Pushkariova said, explaining that the school prioritized younger children whose parents cannot leave them at home alone.

During hromadske's visit, an alert was announced and the electricity went out. Students moved into shelters, where backup power allowed lessons to continue.

Other schools have struggled to provide the same conditions.

The cost of keeping children learning

Kyiv officials say approximately 144,000 students currently attend school in person, more than 66,000 follow a hybrid schedule, over 22,000 study remotely and another 18,000 receive individualized education.

Russian attacks have also damaged school infrastructure. According to Kyiv city authorities, Russian attacks have damaged 334 educational institutions, including schools and kindergartens, since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Of those, 120 were damaged in 2026 alone.

The disruption is pushing some parents toward private online education.

Daria, whose daughter previously attended school in Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district, switched to a private online school after concluding that prolonged hours in shelters were leaving children with too little actual instruction.

The program costs 6,800 hryvnias per month, with an additional annual fee for official educational certification.

But online learning brings its own challenges.

Pushkariova noted that children studying at home may not move to shelters during air raid alerts, while teachers must juggle remote and in-person classes, often amid power outages.

She said there is no single solution that can simultaneously guarantee children's safety, continuous instruction and adequate supervision.

An uncertain winter

The approaching winter raises further concerns about heating, electricity and the ability of schools to operate during Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Kyiv authorities say schools use alternative power sources during outages and switch to remote learning where necessary.

Hromadske has requested information from the city's education department on how many schools have generators, inverters and portable power stations. A response was still pending at the time of reporting.

For families such as Viktor's and Valentyna's, the immediate priority is finding a way for their children to keep learning.

In a striking reversal, Ukrainian schools displaced from occupied cities are now providing an educational lifeline to children living in the country's capital.