Sumy Oblast Builds 9 New Underground Schools Under Constant Strikes

Sumy Oblast is expanding its network of underground schools amid unrelenting strikes on civilian infrastructure: nine new facilities are under construction, and design and cost documentation has been completed for another fourteen, the head of the Sumy Oblast Military Administration, Oleh Hryhorov, told the Ukrinform agency on Wednesday, October 28.

The region already has 13 underground schools in operation. Of the oblast's 280 educational institutions, 225 are equipped with shelters; more than 70 have shelters with radiation protection. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, 165 schools have been damaged and 21 destroyed to their foundations.

Since the beginning of 2024, more than 4,200 guided aerial bombs (КАБ) have been dropped on the region, and more than 6,000 drone strikes of various types have been recorded. Hryhorov noted that Russian forces are making increasing use of FPV drones with fiber-optic guidance, capable of reaching targets at depths of up to 50 kilometers.

Around 75,000 children study in the region's schools. Twenty-two schools are operating fully in person, while 193 are in a hybrid format. Authorities are seeking international partners to finance the construction of new underground facilities.

"The process is ongoing and is being scaled up as much as possible," Hryhorov said.