Kharkiv's metro system has become a safe haven for the city's children amidst the threat of Russian airstrikes and shelling. With schools above ground under threat, the metro's five stations now house purpose-built schools. 

Kharkiv

Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Kharkiv's metro system transformed into schools

They're short on space but not, it seems, on youthful energy. At the start of the war Kharkiv's metro system became a vast shelter for the city's residents. With trains running once more, five of the stations now accommodate purpose-built schools. Children feel safe here and it's good they have the chance of communicating directly with teachers and classmates. It's good for their socialization. To help children adapt, counsellors are assigned to each class, while the teachers do their best to keep spirits up. The tutors and teachers, they do play with them, they have gaming and so we try to make as much fun for them as we can here. As these morning classes end, there's still a feeling it's a bit of an adventure. It's better than learning online at home, says Vera. In fact, it's pretty cool. For her friend Polina, it's the food, especially the burgers and hot dogs. The metro system now has about as many schools as it can support, operating in shifts to allow as many children as possible to attend. And there's a growing realization that as long as schools above ground are threatened by Russian airstrikes and shelling, then Kharkiv will need to continue looking to build underground. Outside the city, on the site of a closed college, a school of the future is taking shape. A giant bunker of a structure, able to accommodate 400 children and staff, with everything needed to survive sealed off from the outside world for up to three weeks, if necessary, a glimpse into a somewhat dystopian, subterranean existence. I don't want such a future. I want my children to study as I studied, as my parents and grandparents studied, not underground. But for Kharkiv's children and their parents, the apparent acceptance of this reality as long as they have such a neighbour in Russia. Rob McBride, Al Jazeera, Kharkiv, Ukraine.

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Ukraine Invasion