Finland to build "green" school in Kyiv Oblast to replace two others destroyed by Russia

The Finnish government has allocated funds to pay for the construction of an eco-friendly school in Kyiv Oblast. The school will replace two others, in the village of Mykulychi and in the village of Nemishaieve, that have been destroyed in Russian missile strikes.

The project is funded by the Finnish government through the Nefco Green Recovery Programme for Ukraine, which Finland contributed €5 million to in 2022.

Nefco, or the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation, will be in charge of the project’s implementation in Ukraine.

"The new school building will be based on a modular prefabricated timber frame and provide space for some 200 school children in primary and secondary years 1-9," according to the press release. Nearly 40% of the energy required will be sourced from renewables, mostly from solar power.

The schools in Mykulychi and Nemishaieve were destroyed by Russian missile strikes in February-March 2022.

Before the full-scale war, Finland financed a prefabricated timber school in Antonivka, Kherson Oblast, in 2016, under the Nordic Initiative for Energy Efficiency and Humanitarian Support, administered by Nefco. Last weekend it was reported that this school was destroyed by Russian missile strikes.

In April, Lithuanian officials said that Lithuania plans to build six underground schools that will also serve as bomb shelters in Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts, and likely in Kharkiv Oblast by the end of the year.