Ukraine war: Revealed – the hundreds of schools and nurseries bombed in the first year of the conflict
At least one in every seven schools in eastern Ukraine was damaged or destroyed during the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Sky News can reveal.
In a new report, shared exclusively with Sky News, the Centre for Information Resilience has verified 381 separate incidents in which Ukrainian schools, universities, orphanages and nurseries were damaged or destroyed between 24 February 2022 and 24 February 2023.
During that time the analysis shows at least a dozen educational institutions were struck every single month.
An estimated 3.6 million Ukrainian children are likely to miss out on education as a result of the war, according to World Vision International.
The Ukrainian government said in October that 2,677 educational institutions had been damaged by the fighting, including 331 that were entirely destroyed.
In only a small portion of those incidents has the aftermath been recorded in images and videos shared on social media, allowing investigators at the Centre for Information Resilience to independently verify that the strikes took place.
One such incident was the bombing of Happy Time kindergarten in Kyiv. On 26 June last year, a cruise missile landed in the kindergarten’s playground, with a second missile striking a nearby block of flats.
Researchers at the Centre for Information Resilience were able to confirm the strike based on the images posted to social media.
On 26 June 2022, a cruise missile landed in Happy Time kindergarten’s playground, with a second missile striking a nearby block of flats.
They used satellite imagery to match the buildings seen in the background to the location of the kindergarten, and to identify the missile’s likely target – a nearby industrial complex, owned by a manufacturer of air-to-air and anti-tank missiles.
“Our team collects data from online sources,” explains Belén Carrasco Rodríguez, a senior investigator at the Centre for Information Resilience.
“Most of it is satellite imagery and user generated content. We store it on an internal dataset, we categorise it. We archive it, so that in case it gets deleted we still have the file in our internal dataset. And then our analysts use independently replicable techniques such as geolocation and chronolocation in order to see when, where and how the incidents happened.
“This way we build a dataset that we can share with domestic and international justice and accountability mechanisms in order to support their investigations into war crimes and human rights abuses.”
One in seven schools in eastern Ukraine has been struck
The largest share of verified strikes took place in the eastern region of Donetsk, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war.
There have been at least 207 strikes damaging educational institutions in eastern Ukraine (Donetsk and Luhansk), leaving one in every seven schools damaged or destroyed.
Much of the destruction in eastern Ukraine has been centred on the area surrounding Bakhmut, a city that has been under siege by Russian forces since August.
Ukrainian government data from 2018 shows the town of Soledar, just north of Bakhmut, had 12 schools before the war. Investigators at the Centre for Information Resilience were able to verify strikes hitting 10 of those schools, as well as two of the town’s nine nurseries and kindergartens.
The images below show the scale of indiscriminate destruction wrought by months of fighting in one of Soledar’s residential neighbourhoods, with a kindergarten highlighted in yellow.
Other towns along the front line have also experienced indiscriminate attacks in recent months, as Russia has sought to break through Ukraine’s defence line in Donetsk.
One of those towns is Vuhledar, which has been subject to intense shelling since late January 2023. The image below, captured by a drone and verified by the Centre for Information Resilience, shows how educational facilities have been caught up in the fighting.
Damage to educational buildings in Vuhledar, 27 January 2023. Source: Armed Forces of Ukraine
Mariupol, on Ukraine’s southern coast, experienced some of the most intense conflict early on in the war, before being captured by Russia. At least 40 strikes hit the city’s educational institutions in March and April 2022.
Many strikes have strayed far from the front lines
In the case of Mariupol, Carrasco Rodríguez says the damage to schools is likely to be a product of indiscriminate shelling. In other cases, however, researchers believe the bombings have been more targeted.
“We have areas where our analysts have verified systematic, targeted shelling of schools,” she says.
“In Kharkiv, for example, our analysts saw an increase in damage to schools in July 2022, once the frontline had shifted away from Kharkiv city – schools were still being hit. And analysis on the area surrounding the damaged schools suggested that it was more systematic targeting rather than a by-product of indiscriminate shelling.”
Not a single month has gone by since the start of the war without one of Kharkiv’s schools, nurseries or universities being shelled or bombed. In several cases, the researchers found that no other buildings had been hit within three kilometres.
Three schools in the region have been hit twice, while Kharkiv University has been hit on three separate occasions. Since Russia’s withdrawal from the region as a whole in September, at least 16 further bombings have taken place.
Sky News compared the incidents recorded by the Centre for Information Resilience against the war’s shifting front lines, as documented by the Institute for the Study of War.
The chart below shows each incident, its date and its distance from the frontline. Those in the shaded area took place in Russian-held territory, while those above took place in areas controlled by Ukraine.
It shows just how far some strikes have strayed deep into Ukrainian-held territory – well behind the front lines.
It’s not simple to attribute responsibility for all these incidents, especially those occurring in the thick of fighting near front lines. But of those occurring more than 10 kilometres from the front lines, five out of every six (84%) took place in Ukrainian-held territories – suggesting Russia as a more likely culprit.
Educational institutions in Russian-held territories have suffered just one strike more than 50 kilometres from the front, while those in Ukrainian-held territories have been shelled 26 times.
That’s not because there are more schools on the Ukrainian-controlled side.
Analysis of the shifting front lines in eastern Ukraine shows that there were, on average, 890 schools in Russian-held territory on any given day (excluding those within 10 kilometres of the front line). That’s more than three times as many as there were on the Ukrainian side (249).
Yet nearly five times as many strikes hit schools in Ukrainian-held areas, compared to those on the Russian side of the front line.
Overall, schools more than 10 kilometres from the front line in Ukrainian-controlled areas were 17 times more likely to be struck than their counterparts in Russian-controlled areas. For kindergartens, the difference was 33-fold.
Bombings of Ukraine’s educational institutions have increased significantly in recent months, following a decline during the summer.
At least 50 institutions were hit in January, the highest since the war began, while February saw at least 30 incidents, with 16 schools and four nurseries and kindergartens damaged or destroyed.
The rise in strikes damaging educational facilities is part of a broader increase in damage to civilian infrastructure. The Centre for Information Resilience recorded 136 strikes that hit civilian buildings in January, the highest number for a single month since their records began in May 2022.
As well as 50 bombings affecting educational institutions, there were also 33 verified strikes that damaged healthcare facilities and 14 that hit cultural buildings such as churches and libraries.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Vladimir Putin has agreed to allow Ukraine’s allies to offer it a NATO-like security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war, according to US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Mr Witkoff said the Russian president agreed to the move when he met with Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.
Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Mr Witkoff, who was by the US president’s side at the summit, said: “We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO.”
File pic: AP
Article 5 is a core principle of the 32-member collective, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members shall be considered an attack against all. It has only been invoked once, by the US, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Russia has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine cannot be allowed to join NATO and has dismissed the idea that NATO member forces could be peacekeepers under some sort of ceasefire deal.
Mr Witkoff, who has previously met with Mr Putin to discuss an end to the Ukraine war, said Friday’s summit was the first time he had heard the Russian president agree to the suggestion of NATO-like protection – and called it “game-changing”.
Witkoff (far right) with Trump, Putin and their delegations in Alaska. Pic: Reuters
His comments came as Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels.
The Ukrainian president said in a post on X: “This is a historic decision that the United States is ready to take part in security guarantees for Ukraine.
“Security guarantees, as a result of our joint work, must really be very practical, delivering protection on land, in the air, and at sea, and must be developed with Europe’s participation.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday. Pic: AP
Ms von der Leyen, speaking at a news conference with the Ukrainian president, said the European Union “is ready to do its share”.
EU leaders to join Zelenskyy at White House
Sunday afternoon also saw Ms von der Leyen and Mr Zelenskyy dial in to a meeting with the coalition of the willing, a peacekeeping alliance of European leaders – some of whom will accompany Mr Zelenskyy to meet with Mr Trump tomorrow.
Ms von der Leyen will be at the crunch talks in Washington DC, as will Sir Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also be in attendance, after the US president reportedly extended an invitation to European leaders.
Read more: Why is Zelenskyy bringing a posse of leaders?
Mr Zelenskyy clashed with Mr Trump during his trip to Washington in February. Pic: Reuters
Mr Putin has reportedly made demands to take control of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine during his summit with Mr Trump as a condition for ending the war.
In exchange, Russia would give up other Ukrainian territories held by its troops, according to several news reports citing sources close to the matter.
Russian troops currently occupy large parts of the two regions and, in September 2022, Moscow announced it was officially annexing them, alongside the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, in a move rejected and condemned as illegal by the West.
Mr Trump is said to be planning to urge Mr Zelenskyy to agree to the conditions as part of a peace deal to end the war.
That’s despite the Ukrainian president previously ruling out formally handing any territory to Moscow, which he says would be impossible under the country’s constitution, and would deprive Ukraine of defensive lines and open the way for Moscow to conduct further offensives.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump shake hands at the Alaska summit. Pic: AP
In coordinated statements following the Alaska summit, European leaders said Mr Zelenskyy must play a greater role in future talks, and that peace cannot be achieved without him.
The US president said the Washington talk with Mr Zelenskyy could potentially pave the way for a three-way meeting with Mr Putin.
Read more from Sky News:
The territory Ukraine could be told to surrender
Body language expert unpacks Alaska summit
On Saturday, Downing Street insisted Sir Keir and other allies stand ready to support the next phase of talks to end the war.
“At the meeting that will take place at the White House tomorrow, the Prime Minister, with other European partners, stands ready to support this next phase of further talks and will reaffirm that his backing for Ukraine will continue as long as it takes,” a statement from No 10 said.
A posse of European leaders will join the meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will join the talk “at the request of President Zelenskyy”, adding that she “and other European leaders” will be meeting at the White House on Monday.
Also set to join in are Sir Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
Mr Stubb’s friendship with Mr Trump is said to have blossomed since the pair bonded over their love of golf during a tournament at Mar-a-Lago in March.
Follow the latest developments on the Ukraine war
Donald Trump and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb during a golf tournament at Mar-a-Lago. Pic: Finnish Presidential Office/Reuters
Mr Stubb previously said that Mr Trump is “the only person who can broker a peace” deal, saying the US president was “the only one that Putin is afraid of”.
Bringing a gang of leaders along could be an attempt by Mr Zelenskyy to prevent a repeat of the infamous Oval Office showdown with Mr Trump and the vice-president, JD Vance, in February.
Zelenskyy and Trump during their exchange in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
They were set to discuss a potential ceasefire with Russia and a mineral deal between Ukraine and the US, but their meeting descended into chaos when Mr Vance berated Ukraine’s leader for being insufficiently grateful for US help – in front of the media.
He completed his ambush of Mr Zelenskyy by mocking him for not wearing a suit, with Mr Trump adding that the Ukrainian didn’t “have the cards right now with us”.
The disastrous meeting ended with Mr Zelenskyy prematurely leaving the White House. He later said the bust-up was “not good for both sides”.
Analysis: Zelenskyy knows he risks another ambush
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump argued in the White House. Pic: Reuters
At the US-Russia summit on Friday, Mr Trump (quite literally) rolled out the red carpet for Mr Putin and even let the Russian leader take a ride with him in the presidential limousine dubbed The Beast.
Mr Zelenskyy is set for a less warm welcome, with no red carpet or fly past, no round of applause, according to Sky News’ US correspondent Martha Kelner.
The atmosphere may be more businesslike with European leaders like Mr Stubb in Mr Zelenskyy’s corner, and their inclusion as mediators could help prevent a repeat of the Oval Office clash.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump greet each other on the red carpet in Alaska. Pic: Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Pool/EPA/Shutterstock
Mr Stubb has repeatedly voiced support for Ukraine, and Finland, along with other Nordic countries and the three Baltic states, has been among the country’s staunchest supporters.
The 2022 invasion prompted Finland, which shares a 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Russia, to join NATO two years ago, upending decades of non-alignment.
Read more from Sky News:
Putin ‘demands key regions of Ukraine’
Body language expert unpacks summit
Two days before the Alaska summit, Mr Zelenskyy, Mr Trump and European leaders, including Mr Stubb, were on a conference call, after which the Finnish leader wrote on X: “Excellent meeting with @Potus and European leaders, including @ZelenskyyUA. Aligned views and unity.
“We are working together for a ceasefire and a sustainable peace. We are there for Ukraine every step of the way. The next few days and weeks can be decisive.”
Whether any other European leaders will accompany Mr Zelenskyy will likely be confirmed late Sunday following a conference call between members of the “coalition of the willing”.
Retired French General Dominique Trinquand, a former head of France’s military mission at the United Nations, said European leaders were “very afraid of the Oval Office scene being repeated and so they want to support Mr Zelenskyy to the hilt”.
“It’s a power struggle and a position of strength that might work with Trump,” he added.
More than 30 people have been arrested in Israel for “disruption of order” as families of hostages held in Gaza step up their campaign with a nationwide strike.
Protestors are demanding the Israel government make a deal to secure the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza.
The campaign escalated on Sunday, with demonstrators staging a “day of stoppage” that blocked traffic and closed businesses.
Protesters gathered at dozens of points throughout Israel, including outside politicians’ homes, military headquarters and on major highways, where they were sprayed with water cannons as they blocked lanes and lit bonfires that cloaked roads in smoke.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Police said they had arrested 32 people as part of the nationwide demonstration – one of the fiercest since the uproar over six hostages found dead in Gaza last September.
The action comes weeks after militant groups released videos of hostages and Israel signalled plans for a new Gaza offensive.
Pic: AP
Protesters fear further fighting could endanger the 50 hostages believed to remain in Gaza, only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive.
The demonstrators chanted: “We don’t win a war over the bodies of hostages.”
Pic: AP
“Military pressure doesn’t bring hostages back – it only kills them,” former hostage Arbel Yehoud said at a demonstration in Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square.
“The only way to bring them back is through a deal, all at once, without games.”
Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, added: “Today, we stop everything to save and bring back the hostages and soldiers.
“Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life.
“Today, we stop everything to join hands – right, left, centre and everything in between.”
Protesters in Tel Aviv on Saturday. Pic: AP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the immediate release of the hostages but is haunted by the potential for mutiny within his coalition.
Far-right members of his cabinet insist they won’t support any deal that allows Hamas to retain power. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages, they threatened to topple Mr Netanyahu’s government.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich branded the stoppage “a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas’ hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardise its security and future”.
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Remaining hospitals in Gaza overwhelmed with malnutrition cases
Read more:
Remaining hospitals in Gaza overwhelmed with malnutrition cases
Israel silences more crucial reporting voices from inside Gaza
Israel is currently preparing for an invasion of Gaza City and other populated parts of the besieged strip, aimed at destroying Hamas.
The military body that coordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza said that the supply of tents to the territory would resume.
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said it would allow the United Nations to resume importing tents and shelter equipment into Gaza ahead of plans to forcibly evacuate people from combat zones “for their protection”.
Meanwhile in Gaza, the health ministry said two children died on Sunday due to malnutrition-related causes – reportedly bringing the total over the last 24 hours to seven.
Also on Sunday, Israeli airstrikes targeted a power plant in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa.
The action escalates strikes on Iran-backed Houthis, who since the war began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea.
Israel’s military said the strikes targeted energy infrastructure it claimed was being used by the Houthis, and were launched in response to missiles and drones aimed at Israel.
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