State budget lacks sufficient funds for underground kindergartens in frontline regions – Synehubov

Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleh Synehubov has said. the state budget provides too little funding for the construction of underground kindergartens in frontline regions.

"Unfortunately, if we talk about the cost, it is quite high, more than UAH 200 million (for construction of underground kindergartens – IF-U)… We must use state funding for such facilities because local budgets will certainly not be enough for these areas. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education and Science directed only UAH 1 billion for all of Ukraine. That is actually for 5 kindergartens for all frontline territories. This is extremely insufficient," Synehubov said during the national telethon on Tuesday.

He said that an underground kindergarten, based on the example of underground schools, is currently being completed in Kharkiv region and will be designed for 500 children. According to him, there are also plans to build another underground kindergarten in the Kharkiv district.

"Next, we will defend the position to increase funding, primarily state funding, for this area," he emphasized.

As reported earlier, for the first time in the 2026 state budget, a separate subvention of UAH 1 billion is provided for the equipment of shelters for preschool education institutions. The subvention can be used for: new construction of civil defense protective structures and dual-purpose structures; reconstruction and major repairs of existing facilities, including those belonging to the fund of civil defense protective structures, with the possibility of their further use as shelters.