Summer holidays 2026 in Ukraine: will schoolchildren have to attend school in June?

This is set out in Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1003 of 20 August 2025 and in the Ministry of Education and Science’s guidance.

Pupils in Ukrainian schools are already preparing for the summer holidays, but the structure of the academic year and the children’s holiday schedule depend on several factors. This concerns not only the curriculum and academic workload, but also the security situation in the region, the needs of pupils and the readiness of teachers.

In accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1003 of 20 August 2025 “On the Start of the Academic Year During Martial Law in Ukraine”, the 2025/2026 academic year in general secondary education institutions began as usual – on 1 September 2025.

The deadline for the end of the academic year has been set as 30 June 2026. However, this does not mean that all pupils are required to attend school until the end of June.

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine previously explained that 30 June is simply the deadline for the end of the academic year. The actual structure of the year, the date of the end of lessons and the start of the holidays is determined by the teaching council of the specific educational institution.

Therefore, the decision on when children will finish their studies and start their summer holidays can be made by each school or lyceum individually.

The Ministry of Education and Science has confirmed that this matter falls within the remit of educational institutions. The teaching council must make the relevant decision taking into account the academic workload, the security situation in the region, the needs and condition of pupils, as well as the readiness of teachers.

Consequently, the dates for the end of the school year, the last bell ceremony and the duration of the summer holidays may vary from school to school.

Separately, the Ministry of Education and Science emphasised that June is not a mandatory teaching month. Educational institutions have the right to end the academic year in May, continue teaching in June, or organise consultations, individual lessons, project days or educational excursions during this period.

Such formats can help mitigate learning losses, but their implementation is a right, not an obligation, of the school.

This is also stated in a letter from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to the heads of regional and Kyiv City military administrations entitled “On the organisation of the 2025/2026 academic year in general secondary education institutions”.

The document states that the educational institution’s teaching council reviews and approves the structure and duration of the academic year, the school week, the school day, lessons, breaks between them, as well as the forms of organising the educational process within the timeframe set out in the curriculum.

All decisions regarding pupils’ study and rest periods must be made in accordance with the academic workload established by the curriculum. Age-related characteristics, the physical, mental and intellectual development of children, regional characteristics and other conditions must also be taken into account.

The final schedule for the summer holidays, as for any other holidays, is approved by the teaching council of each individual school. At the same time, the Ukrainian law “On Complete General Secondary Education” stipulates that the duration of holidays in educational institutions during the academic year must not be less than 30 calendar days.

According to the recommended calendar previously provided by the Cabinet of Ministers, the indicative schedule of holidays in Ukrainian schools for the current academic year is as follows: autumn holidays – from 27 October to 2 November 2025, winter holidays – from 27 December 2025 to 11 January 2026, spring holidays – from 23 to 29 March 2026.

According to this provisional schedule, the summer holidays may run from 1 June until the start of the new academic year.

Some educational institutions have also provided parents with a preliminary academic year schedule. In particular, according to information from one of the lyceums in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, the second term for pupils may run from 19 January to 29 May 2026.

Consequently, there is no single start date for the summer holidays for pupils in Ukrainian schools. The final decision depends on the specific educational institution.

As reported by ThePublic, in 2026, Ukraine will set up 113 shelters in schools across 22 regions, as well as 18 underground shelters in pre-school institutions in nine regions. The government has already allocated nearly 5 billion hryvnias to school projects, with a further 972 million hryvnias earmarked for kindergartens.

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