Four years on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, much of the media attention remains on the frontline conflict between the two European neighbours. But amid the bombings and the gunfire, plenty of civilians are doing their best to get on with life - particularly teachers who work in extremely difficult conditions and say they are emotionally exhausted.
Anna Sydoruk, CEO of Ukrainian education NGO Osvitoria, says teachers have taken on the roles of therapists and surrogate parents to some children who have lost loved ones in the war.
Yet, the average monthly salary is £255 (15,000 UAH), with more than 40 per cent of teachers saying they are going to leave the profession, posing a huge challenge for Ukraine’s education system.
Every sixth school is damaged or completely destroyed by war and Russian aggression, which means thousands of children do not have physical access to schools.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
There is a generation, mostly in front line regions, that have never been to school physically and only seen their classmates online
|GB NEWS
So now, there is a generation, mostly in front line regions, that have never been to school physically and only seen their classmates online.
Instead, children have been forced underground to continue their education. The Ukrainian government is investing almost £190million (11.2billion UAH), into building 139 underground schools. These schools are approximately 8-9 metres deep, and are replicas of ordinary classrooms, so students are studying in safe and familiar conditions.
Anna Sydoruk added: "Childhood has an expiry date and teachers are trying to keep this normality and childhood for every single kid…Lots of children have lost their homes, have lost their loved ones, families, friends, and they have nothing, but your knowledge and skills is something that will always be with you.
"Working in education is about hope because soldiers, they defend Ukraine’s today, but teachers, they defend Ukraine’s tomorrow.
Ukraine's children have been forced underground to continue their education
|GB NEWS
"And from what our teachers put in our students hearts and heads will define what country we will have in 5, 10, 20, 30 years.
"Teachers give the most yet the profession is so underpaid and perhaps under-respected from society, so we have this huge issue of a teachers shortage, because some teachers left the country because of the war and started the profession in other countries."
To shine a light on the challenges Ukraine’s education sector is facing, Osvitoria partnered with award-winning film director Kateryna Gornostai to produce Timestamp, a documentary showing the everyday lives of teachers and students from different corners of Ukraine.
Anna Sydoruk says the NGO’s idea was "to show the other perspective on education, on the war, on resilience, because every single lesson today for Ukrainian teachers is an act of heroism because the circumstances they work in are very challenging".
In some cases Ukrainian teachers have to be psychologists to the children they teach, despite having their own emotional traumas from war
|GB NEWS
One teacher in the documentary lost everything, and did lessons outside against one wall of her home that had not been destroyed.
Parents of her students said the lessons were "the only constant thing in their life as everything changed".
In 2022, Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska initiated the National Program of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, later rebranded as the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program, How Are You? Studies indicated that over 90 per cent of Ukrainians experienced at least one symptom of an anxiety disorder, and 57 per cent were at risk of developing mental disorders. By 2025, 83 per cent of the population was reported to experience daily stress.
In some cases Ukrainian teachers have to be psychologists to the children they teach, despite having their own emotional traumas from war.
Anna Sydoruk’s team has created a course for teachers so they can see mental health issues and support themselves first, and be better equipped to help the children.
"For me, it’s important to know that my work makes real changes and real differences and especially, I do believe that education is like a foundation for all other spheres of our country.
"When war changes your life, education is the only thing that no-one can take from you. Ukrainians will not give up," Anna Sydoruk said.
"We know what we are fighting for."