With Russia’s full-scale invasion now in its fifth year, rushing to bomb shelters has become routine for schoolchildren across Ukraine.
“In general, children have already become accustomed to the alerts,” said Natalia Efremova, deputy principal of Kyiv’s school No 5 in the city centre. The school educates some 400 pupils aged between six and 18 years old.
When air raid alerts blare and pupils become stressed, teachers or the school psychologist use techniques – including breathing exercises and physical activities – to calm them down, she explained.
“By now everyone knows what works best for whom,” she said.
The techniques employed by teachers and staff at Efremova’s school were in part developed with assistance from their Israeli counterparts, who are required to comfort their pupils during air raid alerts amid incoming attacks from Israel’s regional adversaries.
