Ukrainian children head below ground at start of new school year

Ukrainian children began their second straight school year in wartime on Friday, some heading to new classrooms underground, others bracing to run to bomb shelters to take cover from Russian missiles and drones.

Many, at home and abroad, stayed online for a fourth year, their education ravaged by Russia's invasion and Covid-19.

Russian air attacks have totally destroyed 1,300 schools since President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to data by the U.N. Children's Fund, which recorded damage to many other schools.

Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi reported this week that 84% of schools were now equipped with operational shelters.

"When he was studying online, there was not always an opportunity to get to a bomb shelter," said Mariia Doloban, 32, whose 8-year-old son Oleksii starts the year at a new...