Zaporizhzhia Schoolchildren Celebrate Amid Conflict

Despite the ongoing war, Zaporizhzhia schoolchildren celebrated the traditional first day of school. Only first and last-year students attended due to safety concerns. The event underscored Ukraine’s resilience, as the school balances in-person and online learning to cope with wartime constraints.

Just hours after a dawn air raid alarm rang through the city, Zaporizhzhia schoolchildren celebrated the traditional first day of school on Sunday.

With the front just 40 kilometers (25 miles) away, the war is never far from the minds of teachers and families at one local school. Due to a ban on large gatherings in the city—regularly targeted by Russian artillery and missiles—only students starting their first and last years participated in the parade. For security reasons, the AP has chosen not to identify the school.

Dressed in traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirts and carrying roses, the children lined up in pairs, hand in hand—each small student accompanied by a teenager. Despite wartime restrictions, the entire ceremony was a celebration of Ukraine's future.

From the school's 800 students, about 300 have fled either abroad or to safer parts of Ukraine. The remaining students alternate between one week of in-person classes and one week online since the recently renovated bomb shelter can only accommodate around 250 people. Zaporizhzhia regularly faces hours-long air raid alerts every day.

The school's bomb shelter is located approximately 75 meters away from the main building, across an open playground. According to school director Kostiantyn Lypskyi, the youngest students attend in person every day and study in a classroom created just above the basement rooms while the rest operate from the main building.

"We prepared everything for the new school year, equipping the bunker to ensure that children have a safe space and can continue lessons during air raid alarms," Lypskyi stated.

The ceremony proceeded without incident, and Olha Komarova-Lesko, the mother of an 11th grader and a 6th grader, expressed optimism for the new school year, describing it as the best solution under the circumstances.

"We are happy that the children had the chance to celebrate today, just like in prewar times," she said. "This is truly exciting and joyful."

(With inputs from agencies.)