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Ukraine

Attacks on Education in Ukraine, Situation Report, as of 1 November 2019

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Since the start of 2019, the Ukraine Education Cluster has received reports regarding 36 conflict-related incidents resulting in physical damages to school infrastructure, 2 education facilities that have been temporarily closed, 8 cases of military presence in close vicinity to the education facility and 9 incidents resulting in threat of death or injuries to students, teachers and parents. The worrying trend this year is that dynamics of such incidents is even higher than in 2017 when 34 education facilities were damaged in the period of January - October.

As so two incidents of the Attack on Education were reported at School # 4 in Zolote-5/Mykhailivka (Luhanska NGCA) on October 3 and 23. Both times several new holes were observed in the windows of a school building caused by gunfire. At least 100 boys and girls are learning in this school. The school # 4 in Zolote 5/Mykhailivka has been damaged 15 times since the beginning of 2019.

Another two incidents resulted in damages to education facilities were reported in Donetska NGCA. On October 6 windows of kindergarten #48 in Staromykhailivka sustained damages due to hostilities. On October 15 windows of local school in Oleksandrivka had been damaged. The school is a functioning for 213 boys and girls.

During all mentioned incidents luckily no one was injured.

Since the beginning of the conflict in 2014 over 750 education facilities have been damaged and many more experienced disruptions to education. The Ukraine Education Cluster estimates that over 700,000 children and teachers in more than 3,500 education facilities in eastern Ukraine are affected by the hostilities and in need of humanitarian assistance. More than 400,000 children experience the direct impact of the conflict as they live, play and go to school within the 20-km on both sides of the “contact line”, where shelling and extreme levels of mine contamination threaten their lives and wellbeing.