The war in Russia has changed everything in Kharkiv, including how children live.
Missiles are being shot at Ukraine’s second city from Russia. The border is very close, so there is only a short amount of time to stop them.
If they are targeting Kharkiv, it is likely that they will hit the city and it will be hard to find a safe place to hide.
Schools and kindergartens have been closed for nearly two years because of safety concerns, and the playgrounds are empty.
Now, as the big war continues for almost three years, some parts of life in Kharkiv are happening underground.
In the subway, there are specially built classrooms next to the platform at five stations.
A few months ago, the local government started to give school lessons under the streets of the city.
Preschool classes are now available on the weekends.
Nika’s story
Six-year-old Nika Bondarenko gets to play with other kids again and have fun.
After studying online for two years, she happily walks to the nearby metro station wearing bright pink rubber boots.
She walks past destroyed military offices from the invasion, near her house. There are broken glass and damaged buildings everywhere from shrapnel.
But when Nika is on the train going to class, her mother doesn’t have to worry anymore.
“Parents can feel sure that their child will be safe, and the child can keep living their regular life,” says Olha Bondarenko.
“The bad guys can’t reach us in this place. ”
She says Nika didn’t do well in kindergarten.
“It’s really important. ” If there are no kids outside and the air raid sirens keep going off, a child won’t be able to play with other kids.
Kharkiv now has about 700 spaces for kids up to six years old in underground kindergartens. Three times as many children go to school in the same room.
Some children lost their parents in the fighting or lived in areas that were attacked a lot. They need extra help from the psychologists and teachers.
When we visited, there was music, people dancing, and a lot of laughing. Some kids are pretending to be doctors and nurses, and others are singing and playing with plastic bricks.
Attempting to blend in and act regular.
The workers worked really hard to make things as normal as they could.
Next to the colorful pictures of flowers and big caterpillars on the walls, there are posters warning about the danger of mines. But when the sirens sound to warn of missiles coming, no one has to go anywhere.
The Bondarenko family left their town because there was a war happening and Russian soldiers were trying to take over Kharkiv. There were a lot of explosions happening all the time.
Many families lived in the metro at that time. In March 2022, I saw elderly women sleeping in train cars and babies on the train platforms with their parents.
In September, when the Russian forces moved away, the city felt relieved and Olha and her children returned home.
Her husband is in the army, and staying in Kharkiv meant being near him.
I asked Nika’s sister if she is afraid of the air raids, but Viktoria shook her head.
The siren tells us that a missile could be coming, but it’s not for sure. It’s half and half. Just believe that everything will be okay.
The plans are being changed.
The main problem in Kharkiv is where it is located, because it is only 40km (25 miles) away from the Russian border.
We need new and improved ways to defend against attacks from the air. “If the missiles are hitting now, it means we don’t have enough,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov says.
But even the newest Western systems would have a hard time at such a short distance.
Air attacks have been happening more often since December and more kids are starting to go to the metro school.
So the city is starting to build more permanent underground structures.
In the Industrialny district, a new school is being built under a sports field that was badly damaged by missile strikes.
The classrooms will be built five meters underground and can hold 900 students at different times of the day.
Right now, it’s a long and curved shell with workers welding, putting plaster, and hitting with a hammer in every direction you look.
The head builder says his company made a nice new zoo and changed a park before the attack. “I don’t care,” he says, lifting his shoulders.
It makes him think of the underground shelters that were built in Soviet factories during the Cold War.
“I don’t want us to go underground. ” The mayor says it is a safety rule that has to be followed during a site check.
The school should be ready by the end of March, but that might be too optimistic.
The teachers
In another part of town, at the metro school, Olha Bondarenko talks a lot about standing up to challenges and being strong. This city is called unbreakable.
“In Kharkiv, there was an airstrike. You feel worried for a little while, but then you wipe away your tears and continue on. ” “The mother of two says this is how everyone lives here. ”
But here, the difference between life and death can happen in just a few seconds or a short distance.
Olha has bad dreams about being stuck under the broken house with her kids.
“I am really frightened of that. ” I get really scared when I think about being trapped under a pile of rocks or debris.
The schools that are hidden underground are about adjusting and staying alive.
“Sure, it’s weird, but what other choice do we have. We want our kids to grow up here in our country. ” In Ukraine, Natalia Bilohryshchenko tells me. In Ukraine, Natalia tells me.
She leads the preschool education department for the city council. She says teachers are very happy to be back at work.
They had shiny eyes. They did not see the kids.
All of a sudden, Natalia begins to cry.
“When things are calm, come see our regular kindergartens,” she says with tears in her eyes.
“Everything is very sad. But it’s okay. ” Everything will be alright.