93% of shelters in Ukraine have serious deficiencies, says the ombudsman; school shelters are often closed outside lessons
Despite more than 66,000 registered shelters with 16.5 million spaces, many of them are not listed in digital services and remain inaccessible to people with disabilities
In Ukraine, based on monitoring results for the second half of 2025, the majority of inspected protective structures were deemed problematic: deficiencies were found in 93% of the facilities, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubynets, reported.
Experts from the ombudsman’s office conducted 1066 inspections across various regions of the country. 991 sites received remarks, which corresponds to 93% of the inspected sample. Typical violations included closed or blocked entrances, flooding and cluttered premises, while only 80 shelters were found without serious defects.
About 4 thousand recommendations were prepared following the inspections to address the deficiencies. One of the key challenges remains the accessibility of shelters for people with disabilities, and facility owners often cite delays and non-compliance with requirements due to a lack of funding.
“This problem is systemic and is related not only to insufficient control, but also to limited resources,” — noted the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubynets.
The report also emphasizes that a significant portion of school shelters remains inaccessible to residents outside of school hours. In addition, many structures are still not reflected in digital services designed to locate the nearest shelters.
As of the beginning of 2026, Ukraine has registered 66 574 protective structures with a total capacity of about 16.5 million people; however, many of them require improvements to operating conditions and to ensure accessibility for all population groups.
Earlier we reported:
- Russia launched a combined attack: mass drones first overload air defenses, then — missiles against the energy sector
- “The most free spaces in shelters are in the Korabelnyi district”, — the education department on Mykolaiv kindergartens
- Children have nowhere to go: kindergartens in the Korabelnyi district are being closed due to lack of shelters
- “Children waited for an explosion on the street”: a closed shelter in Korabelnyi nearly cost lives
