On the one hill with mobile signal, Ukrainian kids build makeshift classroom

Mykola Dziuba, a fifth grader from Ukraine and his friends have built a tent to act as a remote classroom.

Dziuba said: "We sit here about two or three hours," as the wind roiled the rickety structure. "It isn't too bad when it got cold."

Dziuba's school was in distance learning mode from September to the beginning of the new school year. This was just a few weeks after the area was retaken by the Russians during a Ukrainian counteroffensive. He and his friends decided to search for their own learning spaces.

He claimed that they had collected the materials from their home - including plastic sheeting and wooden poles as well as bricks and sand.

They discovered that the mobile coverage was sufficient to provide stable internet connectivity under the shadow of a hilltop water tower. Soon, more classmates were attracted to the tattered tent that they had built.

Dziuba said: "Everyone was sitting down there talking, and the teacher was showing things to us. We did a lot."

Students listen to lectures and then send their assignments to their teachers via messaging apps.

Liudmyla Myronenko, school director, said that she didn't expect her students to approach remote studies with such enthusiasm.

She said: "I was truly in awe of the children. They wanted us to see them, they wanted communication with us in some way."

Russia invaded Ukraine eleven months ago. This conflict has claimed the lives of thousands and devastated large swathes, particularly in Ukraine's east and south.

Since last October, repeated Russian missile strikes against critical infrastructure have caused power outages in large areas of the country.

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