By coincidence, little Danylo's first day of school fell on the same date as his great-grandmother Svitlana Lykianivna's 85th birthday. On Monday, September 1, the first day of the school year in Ukraine, the entire family gathered in Kharkiv to accompany the young boy to his new school.
For the occasion, everyone wore a traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirt. Danylo, his blond hair tousled, brought his teacher a bouquet arranged by his mother, Alissa Litovchenko, a 38-year-old dentist. Dozens of other families also gathered in front of School No. 124, in a festive atmosphere.
Across Ukraine, the start of the school year followed similar rituals, but the one held in Kharkiv on Monday was special. The eastern city, the country's second largest, celebrated the opening of three new underground schools, designed to protect children from the air raids regularly launched by Russian forces on the city.
The emotion was palpable in these windowless classrooms, reached by descending staircases flanked by thick walls. The harshness of the location was softened by decorations and children's posters on the walls, both yellow and blue, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
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