Bucha Lyceum No. 5 — a school that witnessed occupation, bombardment, and atrocity — serves 1,650 children in one of the most symbolically significant communities of the Russia-Ukraine war. Today, those children cannot learn safely.

The Lyceum's existing shelter infrastructure covers only 397 square metres — sufficient for a maximum of 500 students under Ukrainian civil defence standards. With 1,650 enrolled pupils, the school is legally and ethically unable to conduct full-capacity in-person education during air raid alerts, which occur daily across Kyiv Oblast.

This application requests a grant of €4,000,000 to finance the complete design, construction, and equipping of a new purpose-built underground civil defence shelter complex of approximately 2,000 square metres beneath the school's existing grounds. The project will enable full two-shift in-person education for all 1,650 students under conditions of active air threat — restoring the right to continuous, uninterrupted learning for every child in the school community.

Bucha Lyceum No. 5 has served the Bucha community since 1960, originally as a residential school for orphaned children. Over six decades, it evolved through multiple institutional forms, accumulating deep educational traditions and a reputation for excellence in language education. By 2022, the institution — now a fully modernised lyceum — educated 1,650 children from Bucha and the surrounding region, including a pioneering Adult Education Centre, the first of its kind in Kyiv Oblast.

The school's history before 24 February 2022 was one of promise: green courtyards, tame squirrels on campus, international partnerships, and academic achievement. That history was interrupted by the Russian invasion.

The school building following the end of Russian occupation — April 2022. The roof was struck twice; the chapel and canteen sustained direct hits.

Interior view of the school building showing structural damage and shattered glazing sustained during the occupation period, March 2022.

• 24 February 2022

  Full-scale invasion begins. School administration convenes under artillery fire. All non-essential staff evacuate. The principal remains on site.
• 18 March 2022

  First direct strike — the school roof is pierced and catches fire. The principal, a plumber, and an 80-year-old pensioner shelter in the building extinguish the blaze by hand.
• 24 March 2022

  Second direct strike — the school chapel roof, canteen roof, and multiple windows destroyed. Russian forces subsequently occupy the school grounds, use tanks to destroy the courtyard, ransack classrooms, and steal all computing equipment.
• 1 April 2022

  Bucha is liberated. Among the first facts to emerge: three pupils of Lyceum No. 5 were killed during the occupation — Anya, aged 13, Vladyslav, aged 11, shot in a vehicle during evacuation; and Oles, who died during attempted evacuation abroad.
• April – August 2022

  Teachers return, salvage debris, replace glass, and restore the building in silence, collecting rainwater from damaged floors in buckets. The community repairs the roof and begins shelter adaptation works. International partners Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) finance roof reconstruction and window replacement; UNICEF funds an initial shelter adaptation — later found to have waterproofing deficiencies requiring further remediation.
• 1 September 2022

  School reopens. Over 1,700 students — local children and internally displaced pupils — return to partial in-person learning. A memorial board is planned for pupils and alumni killed in the war.

Ukraine's civil defence regulatory framework (ДСТУ EN 1838, Resolution No. 1444/2021) requires a minimum of 0.5 square metres per person in designated civil defence shelters in educational establishments. Applied to the full school population, this mandates a minimum shelter capacity of 825 square metres for 1,650 students. The Lyceum's existing sheltered area stands at 397 square metres — less than half the legal minimum for full enrolment.

The consequences of this deficit are operational and legal. During air raid alerts — which are frequent and may last between 30 minutes and several hours — the school cannot accommodate its full student body in safety. Teaching is suspended, students are sent home where possible, and those who remain are crowded into inadequate spaces.

Director Mykhailo Nakonechny describes the conditions in the existing shelter: "After one hour in the shelter, the walls become wet, the temperature rises unbearably, and oxygen becomes insufficient. We are forced to call parents and ask them to collect their children." The psychological burden on pupils, families, and staff is significant and measurable.

The school site at Zakhysnykiv Ukrainy St. 104, Bucha — the main building and surrounding grounds, showing available land for shelter construction. Total site area: 4.4971 hectares.

Community engagement in the school's restoration. The Lyceum has become a symbol of civic resilience in Bucha — community members, parents, and educators undertook initial recovery works without external funding.

The project entails the design, construction, and full fit-out of a purpose-built underground civil defence shelter complex, engineered to current Ukrainian and international civil protection standards, with a minimum usable area of 2,000 square metres.

The proposed facility will be constructed beneath the school's existing grounds, using reinforced concrete construction methods consistent with Ukrainian State Building Norms (ДБН В.2.2-5, applicable civil shelter specifications). The structure will be independently accessible from the main school building via protected internal corridors, as well as via a minimum of two independent emergency egress points compliant with DIN EN 13637 and relevant Ukrainian equivalents.

• Total usable shelter area: minimum 2,000 m² (designed for 1,350 persons simultaneously at 0.5 m²/person compliant occupancy, allowing for full two-shift enrolment plus staff)
• Structural specification: reinforced monolithic concrete, Class B25/B30, designed for load-bearing equivalent to a multi-storey structure above, blast-rated to relevant civil shelter class
• Mechanical and electrical systems: autonomous HVAC providing 60 m³/person/hour fresh air capacity; 200 kVA backup generator (72-hour minimum fuel reserve); independent water supply with minimum 3,000-litre reserve tank; sanitary facilities at ratio of 1:50 persons
• Connectivity and educational fit-out: structured cabling for high-speed internet access, provision for 80+ simultaneous user Wi-Fi connectivity; age-appropriate furnishing for learning activities during extended shelter periods
• Accessibility: full compliance with barrier-free access standards including accessible sanitary facilities, tactile guidance paths, and accessible emergency egress
• Medical provision: designated first aid station with defibrillator, basic medical supply provision, and isolation space
• External connection: minimum two independent emergency access/egress points with blast-resistant doors, located at least 15 metres apart

The shelter will be permanently maintained as a civil protection facility. In the absence of air threats, the space is designed to serve as supplementary educational space — study rooms, extracurricular activity space, and examinations facilities — maximising asset utilisation and community benefit.

The total grant request of €4,000,000 is grounded in verified construction cost benchmarks for comparable civil defence shelter projects in Ukraine, cross-referenced against Ukrainian government programme data (Ministry of Infrastructure programme for underground educational facilities, 2024–2025 allocations totalling ₴13.7 billion / approximately €342 million nationally) and independent monitoring data published by Transparency International Ukraine and the GO Public Investigations Centre.

Comparable projects in Kyiv Oblast — including the Vyshneve school shelter (2,297 m², designed for 1,010 persons) — establish a reference range of €1,200–1,500 per square metre of completed underground shelter area including all engineering systems. The budget below is constructed on the conservative end of this range and incorporates the full project lifecycle from geotechnical survey to operational commissioning.

• Immediate protection: All 1,650 enrolled students gain access to adequate, compliant civil defence shelter, eliminating the current 1,150-person protection gap
• Educational continuity: Full two-shift in-person schooling restored without interruption during air raid periods — eliminating the current practice of sending children home during alerts
• Psychological wellbeing: Reduction in chronic stress and anxiety associated with repeated shelter experiences in inadequate facilities; restoration of stable educational routine
• Community anchor: The facility will serve as a civil protection resource for the immediate community during major alerts, providing protection beyond the school population
• International precedent: This project, if funded, will represent one of the most fully specified school shelter projects in Bucha — a community whose name is recognised globally as a symbol of Russian war crimes and Ukrainian resilience

Bucha Lyceum No. 5 and the wider Bucha community have been the subject of sustained international coverage and formal documentation. The following references establish the school's profile in credible international sources:

The following plans are provided as reference material for the Foundation's technical review. They represent the current site layout and building footprint of Bucha Lyceum No. 5, upon which the proposed shelter construction will be situated.

Annex A — Site / Building Plan, Page 1. Cadastral No. 3210800000:01:023:0140. Total site area: 4.4971 ha. Bucha, Kyiv Oblast.

Annex B — Site / Building Plan, Page 2. The site confirms adequate unobstructed land for underground shelter construction.

The cadastral extract (issued by the Bucha City Department of the State Land Agency) confirms communal ownership with no registered encumbrances or restrictions on use. The land is designated for educational facility construction and maintenance, consistent with the proposed shelter project.

The information presented in this application has been compiled on the basis of data and documentation provided by Bucha Lyceum No. 5. The project will be implemented by the Foundation with the engagement of contractors and specialist professionals following the securing of appropriate funding. All funds received will be administered by the Foundation in accordance with its statutes and in compliance with Ukrainian legislation governing the targeted use of charitable funds.

Cost estimates, budget calculations, and the allocation of expenditure have been prepared by the Foundation on the basis of its own preliminary assessments and publicly available sources. These figures are indicative, not final, and may be subject to revision during project preparation and implementation.

Bucha Lyceum No. 5 has provided the source data necessary for the preparation of this application and has not participated in the development of the cost estimation component, nor does it bear responsibility for its content. Final technical solutions and cost parameters will be determined by the Foundation in consultation with relevant specialists at subsequent stages of project implementation.