A preschool in Ukraine’s Poltava oblast has reopened after a €526,000 renovation funded mainly by the European Investment Bank.
Romashka preschool, in the village of Kotelva, received €438,000 in EIB support and €88,000 in local financing, the EIB informed on Wednesday.
The nursery serves 80 children and employs 15 staff, and the works included a new roof, energy-efficient windows and doors, refurbished facades and interiors, and upgraded engineering systems.
The building also received new furniture, educational equipment and barrier-free access for children with disabilities.
Children who have been internally displaced by the war are among those attending the preschool.
A new protective shelter is also being added for use during air-raid alerts and other emergencies.
EIB vice-president Karl Nehammer said children in Ukraine “continue to experience disruptions to safe, in-person schooling, affecting their well-being”.
Renovation carried out under Ukraine Recovery Programme
Work on the project ran from April 2024 to June 2026 under the EIB-financed Ukraine Recovery Programme, which the bank said is worth €340 million.
The programme supports the restoration of social infrastructure across Ukraine, and is one of three joint EU-EIB recovery initiatives carried out with Ukrainian ministries and local authorities, with technical support from the United Nations Development Programme — a UN agency that works on development and recovery.
Stefan Schleuning, head of cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, said the renovated preschool gives children “a safe and welcoming place to learn”.
Ukraine’s Minister for Reconstruction, Infrastructure and Transport, Mykola Kalashnyk, stated that the country was continuing to restore social infrastructure despite the war.
Natalia Sidnenko, head of the Kotelva territorial community, noted the new shelter would allow educational services to continue during air-raid alerts.
