UNICEF: Ukraine’s Education Crisis and Winter Risks in 2026
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Diplomatic Legal Hub
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/09/22
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Independent Journalist and DLH Coordinator
How is war affecting children’s education in Ukraine, according to UNICEF’s September 2026 briefing?
Overview
UNICEF’s September 2026 briefing from Sumy details how war disrupts children’s education in Ukraine. Frequent air-raid alerts, damaged facilities, resource shortages, and psychological distress hinder learning. Shelter classrooms and winter assistance support continued education, while assessment limitations and civilian protection rules shape how the findings are interpreted and raise accountability questions.
UNICEF Briefing from Sumy
UNICEF Global Deputy Spokesperson Ricardo Pires delivered a briefing on September 15th, 2026, from Sumy, Ukraine. Key focus areas included damage to facilities, disruptions to children’s education, learning outcomes, psychological effects, and winter preparedness.
Air-Raid Alerts and Interrupted Education
Across Ukraine, during the first 15 days of September 2026, there were more than 1,000 air-raid alerts. This is approximately double the rate in the same period in 2025. These alerts interrupt children’s education.
More than 1,000 air-raid alerts occurred across Ukraine during the first 15 days of September 2026. Children in educational settings face several issues. Lessons become interrupted. Movement to shelters wastes educational time. Disruption perturbs focus on pedagogy. These factors are ordinary trauma associated with developing nervous systems regarding war.
Damage to Educational Facilities
The hardest-hit regions were Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Sumy. Not merely interruptions, more than 4,200 educational institutions have been damaged since the beginning of the war. Hundreds more were damaged between January and August of this year. About half of educational facilities in Sumy have been damaged or destroyed.
Shelter, Classrooms, and Children’s Safety
UNICEF has been working for children’s safety and rights during the war. They helped establish 22 underground shelters adapted for schooling, near the frontlines. Pires visited a Sumy facility able to accommodate up to 300 children.
These adapted educational facilities, or shelter classrooms, allow children to learn together despite dangerous conditions and repeated bombardment throughout the day. However, outdoor play and ordinary school activities are restricted.
Learning Outcomes
Of the 15-year-olds assessed, only 2/3rds reached science proficiency. About half did not reach baseline proficiency in math or reading. 29% fell below baseline proficiency in all three subjects and 56% in at least one assessed subject. Results appeared stable between 2022 and 2025. Even so, the full-scale invasion began in 2014, at the start of the war. This article does not assess longer-term trends in educational assessments across decades.
Geographic Coverage of PISA Findings
Ukraine has 27 jurisdictions. PISA covered 17 because it excluded ten. Researchers excluded those ten for security reasons. Therefore, these PISA findings represent 17 of 27 jurisdictions, not Ukraine as a whole.
Learning Resources and Educational Participation
61% of students attended schools affected by shortages of learning materials and equipment. 4.2 million children, including 712,000 preschoolers, returned to learning in September, 2026. 366,000 teachers returned. Children continue through regular, hybrid, and fully online education. Half of preschool-aged children lacked regular early childhood care and education.
Psychological Effects and School Support
Children exhibit concentration problems, emotional dysregulation, and sleep disruption. Displacement, explosions, repeated sheltering, and separation from friends are reported causes or correlates. Schools become pillars of childhood mental wellness because adult contact, relationships, and routine anchor them.
Winter Disruptions and Planned Response
Heating and electricity disruptions affect schools, online and offline. 2 million children experienced severe winter conditions. The planned 2026/27 winter response intends to reach 3 million people and 540,000 children.
Civilian Protection and Accountability
A few key footnotes: First, schools remain protected civilian objects. Second, feasible precautions and proportionality remain applicable if military objects are identified as such. Third, aggregate damage figures do not establish criminal liability for an instance. Fourth, any specific accountability requires evidence about the attack.
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