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A few kilometers before the Russian border in Sumy Oblast stood a school that was over 100 years old. It was beautiful, with thick walls, intricate decoration, and equipped according to the standards of the New Ukrainian School. Approximately 80 students from grades 1 to 4 studied there. Now, these Ukrainian children no longer have a school – it was destroyed by Russia. This educational institution “survived” the First and Second World Wars, but unfortunately, not the barbarism of the Russian Federation.
On March 24, 2023, Russian occupiers dropped a 500-kilogram guided aerial bomb on Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 4. The impact was so powerful that only a pile of bricks remained of the institution. The iron rails, once laid during construction, became lodged in the ground from the shockwave. They could only be extracted with the help of special equipment. Unfortunately, on that day, a security guard who was in the school during the shelling lost his life. The institution is completely ruined and is beyond restoration.
Bilopyllia Gymnasium 4
The story of Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 4 is not the only attack by Russian soldiers on educational institutions in Sumy Oblast. During a monitoring mission as part of the project “Education Under Fire (Kherson and Sumy regions),” our documentation team recorded dozens of attacks on educational facilities. Here’s what we managed to see and document.
On 24.02.22 vs. 24.03.23 in Bilopillia
Many Ukrainians recall with horror the morning of February 24, 2022. However, the residents of Bilopillia remember the morning of March 23, 2023, even more vividly. On that day, Russians heavily shelled the entire city: there was an aerial strike, shelling from the Grad MLRS, and small arms artillery fire.
Tactical aviation took off from two Russian airfields in Morozovsk and Akhtubinsk. Ten Su-35 fighters launched 11 (from other sources, 10) guided aerial bombs and one Kh-31P missile over the Sumy region.
On that day, a police inspector and a gymnasium guard lost their lives, while 9 citizens were injured. The attacks damaged the buildings of three educational institutions: Bilopillia Gymnasiums No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5.
One of the buildings of Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 4 (Bilopillia City Council), mentioned earlier, was constructed in 1895. This building housed the classrooms for junior classes. It is located approximately 7 km from the border with Russia and a few hundred meters from another gymnasium building where senior classes were taught. This building also suffered from shelling on 23.03.2023 – the shockwave shattered the windows.
Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 3
Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 3 also suffered damages – there, the windows were shattered.
Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 5 was also affected. Since 1959, the institution has functioned as a boarding school. Interestingly, the building that now houses the school has a history dating back to the pre-revolutionary period. In 1908, it was a male gymnasium, and in 1923, it became Labor School No. 1. During the Second World War, the building served as a German military hospital. The structure itself was severely damaged, and the ruins lingered around for a long time.
The Russian invasion added another chapter to the sorrowful history of the institution. After the “visit” on March 23, 2023, the cafeteria was completely destroyed, windows were blown out in the dormitory building, and the roof, walls, and windows of School Building No. 1 were also damaged.
Next to the school, apartment buildings, a store, and the completely ruined building of the Pension Fund were also damaged – a projectile hit the latter. Approximately 200 meters away, there was a police facility hit by an aerial bomb – it too was completely destroyed, and as mentioned earlier, a police officer lost his life there.
Pavlivska Gymnasium: 4 km to the border
Pavlivska Gymnasium of Bilopillia City Council is situated very close to the border with Russia – approximately 4 km away. The school building is quite large, designed for 400 students. However, currently, only 14 children attend, and today this educational institution operates as a branch of Bilopillia Gymnasium.
It’s not surprising given the ongoing shelling of the village from Russian territory: private houses, agricultural enterprises, and more are being destroyed. In such conditions, it is challenging to live, let alone study or work.
Pavlivska Gymnasium
Pavlivska Gymnasium was shelled in August 2022, with direct hits occurring. Two projectiles struck the roof, and three more landed in the courtyard. The school building suffered damage from shrapnel and shockwaves, including 15% of the asbestos roofing being damaged, windows and doors being shattered, and property inside some classrooms being affected. A children’s playground, cafeteria, and private houses near the gymnasium were also damaged due to mortar shelling.
Iskriskivschynske School
The State Vocational and Technical Educational Institution “Iskriskivschynske Vocational and Technical School” is located 2 km from the Russian border. Like many educational institutions in Sumy Oblast, it has a long history – the first building of the school was constructed in 1905. In the past, it trained tractor drivers, cooks, confectioners, agricultural workers, and drivers.
Before the major conflict, around 200 students attended this educational institution. However, its proximity to the border and the Russian invasion hindered its normal functioning.
The Russians targeted the school twice: first in July 2022 and again in August of the same year. Two Russian aircraft, violating the state border near the town of Tyotkino, launched 2 rockets from an altitude of 200 meters.
The targeted impact of the rockets damaged the educational building. The roof was destroyed, the computer lab and gymnasium were ruined, windows and doors throughout the building were shattered. At the point of impact, a section of the wall was blown out, and a fire broke out after the shelling.
Following the second hit, the dormitory burned down. Nearby, the church, post office, water tower, school, store, village council, monument, and private houses also suffered damage.
Sumy Vocational College
Sumy Vocational College of the Sumy National Agrarian University has its origins dating back to 1903 when the Sumy Agricultural School was founded. Since 1997, the institution has been a structural unit of the Sumy National Agrarian University.
Currently, about 500 students are enrolled there, and they could have pursued their studies more effectively were it not for the Russian aggression. The college was attacked on 26.02.2022 around 17:00. One of the projectiles hit a building next to the college and dormitory, causing windows to shatter, doors to be blown out, the sports hall to be damaged, and the structure to be partially destroyed.
Another projectile landed near the dormitory, triggering a fire. At that moment, the dormitory housed two orphaned children, a mother with two boys, and a family with a small child. Fortunately, they were unharmed. The building also had a guard and accounting staff. Overall, as a result of the city shelling that day, three people were injured, and three people lost their lives.
Malovystoropsky Vocational College
Malovystoropsky Vocational College, located in the village of Maly Vystorop, is a separate structural unit named after P.S. Rybalka of the Sumy National Agrarian University. According to the teachers and management of the institution, it is one of those uncommon cases where a vocational college is situated not in a city but in a village. They take pride in this fact and actively contribute to its development.
However, the Russian occupiers had their own plans for the institution. From March 17 to March 25, 2022, the village of Maly Vystorop was occupied by a Russian tank brigade. Of course, they couldn’t overlook the vocational college and began using its premises.
According to witnesses, the administrative staff of the brigade lived in the educational building. This happened despite the fact that even before the village was occupied on March 13, 2022, the institution had already been shelled. According to testimonies, the shelling involved mortars and heavy artillery.
Malovystoropsky Vocational College
The second shelling of the college took place on March 25, 2022, as the occupiers, before leaving the village, targeted it with tank fire.
“Windows were shattered when the mines came to visit us. Five mines landed on the premises of our educational institution. One near the building, and the others: one near our production workshop, one near the educational and production farm, and two on our stadium,” said the deputy director of the college, Igor Dmytrivsky.
In the four-story educational building, 289 windows, doors, and the roof were damaged. Windows were blown out in the two-story sports building, and windows and doors were damaged in the dormitory.
Russian forces stayed in the college for 8 days. As a result, the material and technical base were destroyed, the state-of-the-art laboratory for practical and laboratory work was looted, furniture was smashed, windows and computer equipment were destroyed, and books were burned. In the student dormitory, furniture was vandalized, doors were broken, and a Russian projectile hit one of the rooms.
Oksana, a college employee, shared, “They lived here: in the carpentry workshop, in the building. And then they continued to break the windows. They took a lot away. They looted the cafeteria: pots, forks, spoons, plates. They damaged computers that were here at the time.”
Boromlya: “Dzvinocok” Kindergarten and Lyceum
One of the bombs targeted the boiler room near the “Dzvinocok” Kindergarten of the Boromlya Village Council. The impact was so powerful that only ruins remained of the kindergarten. Fortunately, there were no people in the preschool institution at that time, so there were no casualties.
The lyceum of the Boromlya Village Council also suffered from the Russian invasion. Russian military forces used the lyceum’s premises for their accommodation: canned goods, dry rations, and personal belongings of Russian soldiers were found. They “lived” in the basement and classrooms of the lyceum, wrote nicknames on the walls, and even maintained a duty roster.
From such a “stay” in the lyceum, several rooms were damaged, windows and doors were broken, the heating system was destroyed, multimedia and computer equipment were damaged, projectors and tablets were stolen. Moreover, Russian military personnel also stole the school bus. Additionally, the occupants even fired shots at the windows that survived. Apparently, according to their logic, schools should not operate in Ukraine.
Zhigaylivska lyceum branch
The village of Zhigaylivka was occupied from February 24 to March 27, 2022. Russian military forces were stationed in the premises of the Zhigaylivska lyceum branch of the Boromlya Village Council. The local House of Culture is also located in this building. In the classic genre, the invaders robbed the school (and the club): office equipment, including computers, was stolen.
According to witnesses, initially, the military of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) were based in the village, but then Russian army soldiers entered, including representatives of Asian appearance. Many occupiers were accommodated in the houses of residents who had left, in the premises of the FAP, in the office of the “RAIZ” enterprise, and in the premises of the village council.
Notably, in this settlement, there was a case where a Russian soldier was sentenced in absentia for his unlawful actions. The court convicted a Russian military serviceman who robbed civilians during the occupation of the village of Zhigaylivka. The investigation found that in March 2022, four Russian military personnel entered the house of civilians and, threatening them with weapons, demanded all the available cash. To convince civilians of the seriousness of their intentions, the occupiers took a man outside and fired several shots over his head, after which the wife gave the Russian military 1000 hryvnias and 500 euros. Currently, preventive measures have been chosen against the military in absentia in the form of detention, and the investigator has declared him wanted.
Trostyanets: kindergarten “Bilochka”
The “Bilochka” preschool educational institution of the Trostyanetska City Council is located on the outskirts of the town of Trostyanets, near the forest. It was in this forest not far from the kindergarten that the equipment of the occupiers was located.
In early March, Russian soldiers entered the kindergarten: they interrogated the guard, beat him; they searched for valuable items in the building and stole the director’s laptop.
Trostyanets: kindergarten “Bilochka”
Educational Institution in Soldatske
In March 2022, the Russian forces shelled the local educational complex in the village of Soldatske. The complex includes the Soldatske General Secondary Education Institution I-III levels and the preschool educational institution named after M. Gendina of the Trostyanetska City Council. On March 7, the institution came under artillery shelling, and on March 10, it was hit by an aerial bomb.
The projectile hit directly into the roof of the central building, and the aviation bomb fell 70 meters away from the school. As a result, the roof was destroyed, ceilings collapsed, walls cracked, windows and doors were blown out, and the heating and electrical wiring were damaged.
Educational Institution in Soldatske
