Ukraine's first underground kindergarten, named 'Mobile', has opened in the Pesochynska hromada of Kharkiv Oblast. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a post by the press service of Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science. According to the Ministry, the new educational space is designed to support a full in-person learning process even during air-raid alerts: children and staff can remain inside a protected facility without leaving the premises. According to kp.ua, the underground kindergarten has a capacity of around 260 children.
How the underground space is designed
The Ministry of Education and Science emphasises that the underground space of 'Mobile' is equipped with everything needed to run classes and accommodate children. A key element of the structure is the safe passageways connecting the protective facility with the kindergarten's buildings: thanks to them, children and staff can reach shelter without going outside. Special attention was paid during the design phase to creating a barrier-free environment — this is described as an important component of the underground facility, allowing it to be used by children with disabilities.
Funding and the role of the European Union
The underground kindergarten was built under a co-financing arrangement from the state, regional and local budgets. Anastasiia Konovalova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine for preschool education, noted that in 2026 the state for the first time allocated a separate subvention for equipping shelters in preschool institutions. At the same time, according to the Ministry, the actual construction and renovation of shelters are carried out by territorial hromadas with the financial support of the European Union under the Ukraine Facility instrument. At present, such projects are being implemented in nine oblasts of Ukraine, with priority given during selection to hromadas facing the highest security risks.
Priority on in-person learning
The Ministry reminded that, for the authorities, a priority today is ensuring children's access to quality preschool education in an in-person format. 'The ability to learn and develop in a safe educational environment is extremely important for every child,' Konovalova emphasised. She added that the state's task is to support the hromadas most vulnerable in terms of security and to help as many kindergartens as possible resume the educational process in person, rather than switching it entirely to remote mode.
Context: new rules and preschool education coverage
The opening of 'Mobile' comes amid broader changes in the field of preschool education: it was previously reported that from October the rules for building kindergartens in Ukraine are changing. At the same time, experts point out that only about 55% of Ukrainian children attend kindergartens, and the problem lies less in a shortage of places than in other systemic factors. In this context, underground protective spaces are seen as one of the tools that can help maintain the in-person format of education in regions with an elevated level of risk.
