Ukrainian schools grapple with hoax bomb alerts amid Russia tension

Students gather near a demining armoured vehicle of Ukraine's State Emergency Service during bomb threat training at a local school following a recent spate of hoax bomb threats in public institutions in Kyiv, Ukraine January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KYIV (Reuters) - "How much explosives do you think can fit in this one?" asked a Ukrainian bomb disposal expert, holding up a blue-and-yellow owl mascot in front of astonished pupils attending emergency drills at their school in Kyiv on Thursday.

Law enforcers organised the training after a series of hoax bomb alerts this year forced the evacuation of schools in the capital Kyiv, and other cities, including Kharkiv, Lviv and Zaporizhzhia.