Increased attacks disrupt children's education as air-raid alarms affect nearly two-thirds of school days in Ukraine

KYIV, 03 November 2026 - Children across Ukraine are facing growing disruptions to their education as air-raid alarms continue to interrupt the school day amid ongoing escalating attacks. The impact of ongoing attacks is also being felt in classrooms across the country. Since the start of the 2026–2027 academic year, children have experienced an average of 34 hours of air-raid alarms during school time, equivalent to more than 13 per cent of scheduled learning hours, according to data covering the period up to 20 October. Air-raid alarms have occurred on nearly two-thirds of school days (65.9 per cent) in the period of September and October 2026, compared with around one-third (37.4 per cent) in equal period of 2025. The average duration of alarms during school hours has almost doubled from September 2025 to September 2026. In Kyiv, school-time alarms rose from 12 in September 2025 to 71 in September 2026. Meanwhile, in Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Kharkiv regions, children have experienced more than 60 hours of school-time alarms - equivalent to approximately one quarter of scheduled learning hours, affecting more than 560,000 children. 15-year-old Katia from Mykolaiv region says “I’ve just returned to in-person school; however, we still spend most of our school day in a shelter because of air raids. It is difficult to concentrate and learn properly in these conditions.”Since the start of the full-scale war, the UN has verified almost 2,000 attacks on educational facilities, including some 270 in 2026 alone. 
 
UNICEF continues to work with the Government of Ukraine and partners to support safe learning, including through improved school shelters, learning recovery and mental health support. Children must be protected from attacks, and every child has the right to learn in safety.