Ukrainian police reported bomb threats to schools in Kyiv on Fridayon the first day of the new school year in Ukraine, claiming to have inspected facilities without conducting general evacuations of buildings.

“We received information about the presence of bombs in schools in Kiev (…) All educational institutions are controlled by the police forces” of the Ukrainian capital, the police said on Telegram.

Today marks the start of a new school year for nearly four million Ukrainian students — live, distance or hybrid — the second since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

While fighting rages in eastern and southern Ukraine, major cities far from the front lines are often hit by Russian missiles or drones.

More than 3.6 million children from Ukraine, including 400,000 displaced abroad, are returning to school today, for the second year since Russia invaded their country, according to data provided by the Ukrainian presidency.

“The second September 1st after the full-scale invasion. The Russians are trying to do everything to destroy our nation (…) The nation has preserved the ability of children to go to Ukrainian schools,” the chief of staff wrote today on Telegram of the Ukrainian president, Andriy Yermak.

For this start of the school year “3,623,169 children study in our schools”, of which 400,000 are abroad which “remain in our educational system”, he clarified.

According to him, 3,750 schools have been destroyed “by Russian missiles and bombs” since the start of the conflict in February 2022.

The capital Kyiv was again the target of a “massive” attack on Wednesday morning, which left two dead and was described as the biggest “since spring” by local military authorities.

In some major cities, underground shelters have been set up to allow teachers to continue their lessons in the event of sirens warning of possible bombings.

“Students and teachers are forced to adapt to this reality,” Ukrainian army commander Valery Zaluzny also wrote on Telegram.

“But the main thing is that our children study (…) Because knowledge and culture are what distinguish us from the enemy. They are the pillars on which the current front rests and on which the future of our country will be built “, he said.

The Ukrainian army has been carrying out a difficult counter-offensive in the south and east of the country since the beginning of June in an attempt to recapture the territories occupied by Moscow’s forces.