Lithuania plans to build bomb shelters in 6 regions of Ukraine by end of 2024.

By the end of this year, Lithuania plans to build six underground schools in the Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, and possibly Kharkiv regions.

This was stated by Arturas Žarnovskis, the head of the Lithuanian program for the reconstruction of Ukraine Co-create Future of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrinform, Censor.NET reports.

He spoke about working on a large project in the Mykolaiv region and other regions that are close to the frontline and are constantly under fire.

"There will be safe wartime schools-shelters. In peacetime, the shelters can be used as multifunctional premises - sports, entertainment, etc.", said Zharnovskis.

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How underground schools will be built

According to him, in addition to the 6 regions, another such facility may be built in Kharkiv region.

"What is the idea? In some Ukrainian regions, children cannot go to school because of the full-scale war. This is a huge problem. And if we also remember the previous covid restrictions, it turns out that this is the fourth school year when children do not go to school," explains Žarnovskis.

The head of the reconstruction program noted that such schools will be built from scratch, in places where there were no shelters before. The new institutions will also provide anti-radiation protection.

"I repeat once again: our goal is for children to be able to return to the educational process with direct communication with each other and with teachers. In other conditions, such bomb shelters can be used in different ways: for sports, cultural activities, any leisure time after school," the Lithuanian official summarized.

He added that the construction could be completed by the end of 2024.