Ukraine: Children and The War (March 14, 2022)

(Editor's note: The below was provided by Khrystyna Dmytryshyn, a foreign exchange student from Ukraine that spent time as a student at Lamar High School in 2019-2020. While attending school in Lamar, she also helped write articles for the Lamar Democrat.)

Introduction:

The war in Ukraine has affected the whole country and no one can continue their everyday lives anymore. Some of the most devastating and shocking events of the war are the deaths and suffering of our children. Our team gathered the information considering victims on the 7th and 9th of March. However, the exact numbers of victims are unknown and more significant than stated previously due to blockades (for example, Mariupol, where Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine reports that shelling victims cannot be counted) and loss of connection with some of the attacked settlements. We feel an urgent need to tell the world about the terrible consequences of this awful and unjust war, which calls into question the most incredible value of humanity - human life. These horrible and unacceptable events against humanity must not be ignored or forgotten.

Child victims

"As of today, the 8th of March, 50 children have died during the war. Fifty Great Martyrs. It's frightening - emptiness - instead of 50 universes that could live, they were just taken away," - said Zelensky.

It is believed that children are the brightest and kindest people on the planet. However, the Russian army and their commander-in-Chief Putin do not think so. As a result of their brutal actions, more than 50 children have already died.

* Tanya, the 6-year-old girl, died of dehydration in Mariupol. Rescuers found her only a few days after her house collapsed due to the shelling. The girl's mother died and Tanya was trapped.

* Kiril, an 18-month-old boy, was killed in the shelling of civilians in Mariupol. Doctors tried to save the baby, but unfortunately, they could not do so.

* Alice, seven years old, was from the Ukrainian city of Okhtyrka. She died during the shelling with her grandfather, who used his body to shield the granddaughter - wounded by shelling.

* Polina, age unknown, about 8-9 years old, was from Kyiv. She died during the shelling on the streets of our capital, along with her parents and brother.

* Arseniy, 14 years old boy. A fragment of the projectile hit the boy in the head. Doctors could not reach him under fire, Arseny bled to death.

* Russian troops shot parents with two kids during the evacuation in Irpin'.

These, and many more cases of children's death demonstrate the cruelty and ruthlessness of this war, especially when the young generation is being total destruction, which later had to proudly represent Ukraine on the world stage.

As of March 14, 85 Ukranian children have died and 100 have been injured since January 24.

Child refugees

They are still small but already "big people."

The issue of refugee children is extra essential. These children grew up in one day. They were deprived of a carefree childhood that would never be returned. Parents always try to protect their children from disagreements, but, unfortunately, no one will protect them from war. The child's psyche is very vulnerable, and hostilities cause great shock to children. More than a million refugees have now left Ukraine, most of them children.

The story of an 11-year-old hero - An 11-year-old boy lived a good life with his mother and non-walking grandmother near the nuclear power plant. However, all that changed when the Russian occupiers, contrary to all norms of humanity, began shelling these stations, exposing everyone to a deadly radiation danger. Young boy, bravely managed to get to the Ukrainian-Slovakia border and successfully crossed it. Unfortunately, his parents stayed in Ukraine. It's hard to imagine how his mother managed to make the most difficult decision in her life to provide better and safer conditions for her son's life. Fortunately, the story ended well and the boy is safe and sound with his relatives abroad. But imagine what the boy had to go through and what is in his heart now. After all, his family is still there, in danger.

However, most children leave Ukraine with their families, mostly with their mother, aunt or grandmother. But this does not make the refuge less painful. These children have already had to leave the past behind and go into the unknown. These children are forced to live in a new, unfamiliar country with a strange language. These children are deprived of peace because many little hearts are distressed for their parents and relatives who remained in Ukraine.

Being a refugee is difficult at any age. We want to thank our neighbors - Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and other European countries, which are helping our refugees, accepting them, and providing shelter. Thank you for your kindness and support in such difficult times. You do help Ukrainians find peace, return children to a sense of security and preserve their childhood.

The war forced the children to change. Children who have left Ukraine still have it in their hearts. Many children volunteer and help other refugees settle in the new country with their parents. They are still small but already "big people".

Life of children in a wartime reality

Air-raid shelters as new playgrounds and maternity hospitals during shelling

When Russia invaded Ukraine, its cities and villages, many people found themselves trapped, without escaping to safer places. Even if they had the chance, some could not leave due to their health problems or incapacitated family members. Thus, many children still stay in hot spots, where they have to live by rules very different from those established during peaceful times.

Air raid shelters. Even in relatively peaceful regions, where there are fewer airstrike and shelling victims, people, including children, need to spend a lot of time in air raid shelters due to recurring attacks. These shelters are usually situated underground. In larger cities, like Kyiv and Kharkiv, people find refuge in underground metro stations. Children must quickly put on warm clothes during air raid sirens and run to the nearest shelters with parents or guardians. Airstrikes can happen at night, too (in fact, the full-scale invasion started at 5 in the morning), so they must always be ready to escape for shelters. Sometimes there can be more than five air-raid alarms a day. Children are not used to such amounts of stress, and each may have different psychological needs, which are further affected by wartime anxiety and life underground. Currently, there are various guides for parents, created by psychologists, which are meant to help both adults cope with vast amounts of stress and help their children.

Maternity during the war. Since the very first day of the invasion, we received news of a baby born in an air raid shelter in Kyiv. Due to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine report on the 6th of March, about 4311 newborn babies are in Ukraine. Most of them were born in shelters and maternity hospitals, which can still function. We call them "children of war" because they have never been under peaceful skies. The stress of war, anxiety for their children's lives, and non-perfect conditions of shelters, which are not meant as medical facilities, impose significant pressure on new mothers.

The war conditions are so harsh that even children's hospitals and maternity hospitals come under fire.

Children hospitals. Russian troops targeted children and maternity hospitals during the bombing and shelling of cities. The situation significantly worsens for kids who have already been fighting terminal diseases. Such war conditions make them suffer from additional stress that not every adult can easily handle.

The biggest children's hospital, "Okhmatdyt", was attacked by Russian troops using cruise missiles. Luckily, the rocket was shot down, and "Okhmatdyt" was not ruined. Since then, the hospital has started the evacuation of their patients. When evacuation is not an option, in regions where battles continue, children stay in quickly prepared hospital basements under constant guard by medical staff.

On the 9th of March, we received one of the worst news: the Russian army attacked the maternity hospital in Mariupol. So far, only 17 injured are known. Three of them died, one of the - child. The exact number of victims is still being determined.

Afterword

Unfortunately, there are many more stories and details, which we would like to tell because these crimes against humanity cannot be ignored. There is much more suffering than we can describe to You. Every day we receive more news about children, who were shot, children who lost their families, who were murdered by Russians in blockades and during airstrikes, about fates of orphanages, which had to be moved or have to stay underground, about schools that cannot welcome children anymore, because Russian troops ruined them. This list continues on and on and while war will surely end at some point, lost lives will never come back. We are assured that this war should neither occur in Ukraine nor any other country in the XXI century.

To conclude, we want to stress the importance of stopping this war as soon as possible. Considering all mentioned deaths and suffers above - all these harmful events calls into question the most outstanding value of humanity - human life. We have no choice except to kindly ask you for your attention and help because more suffering and losses can be prevented now as every minute counts. While neither you nor us can return lost lives, we can still save the ones who are in danger now. We greatly thank everyone who helps and supports us.

Ukrainians will never forget Your kindness and support.

Thank you.

#StandWithUkraine

#CloseTheSky

Contributing writers: Maria-Olesia Tarasova, Marta Belia, Daria O., Tania Vanat Editor: Yuliia Dobosevych. Sources:Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (https://t.me/verkhovnaradaofukraine,https://www.facebook.com/verkhovna.rada.ukraine) Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine (https://www.facebook.com/mvs.gov.ua,https://t.me/mvs_ukraine) Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (https://mon.gov.ua/ua,https://mon.gov.ua/ua/news/mon-zapuskaye-informacijnu-kampaniyupro-te-yak-zaspokoyiti-ditej-pid-chas-vijni) The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine(https://www.facebook.com/minjust.official/)The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (https://www.facebook.com/zelenskiy.official)Olena Zelenska's (First Lady of Ukraine) Instagram and Facebook (https://www.instagram.com/olenazelenska_official/,https://www.facebook.com/olenazelenska.official) TSN.ua (https://tsn.ua/) 24tv.ua (https://24tv.ua/) Ministerstvo vnutra SR (https://www.facebook.com/ministerstvovnutraSR) Volyn Pravda,11-richnii khlopchik sam distavsia iz Zaporizhzhia do rodichiv u Slovachchinu - Volin'.Pravda (pravda.volyn.ua)

Death of Kirill. Source: CNN, Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo

Irpin. Source: Lynsey Addario/The New York Times

Civilians fleeing from Irpin. Source: Fabio Bucciarelli

Source: Facebook/Ministerstvo vnutra SR

Source:Twitter/@/Straz_Graniczna

Newbron in the shelter. Source Natalka Makogon (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10217423443298191&set=a.3691240659780)

Patients of "Okhmatdyt". Source: Victoria Derbyshire (https://twitter.com/vicderbyshire/status/1498713365832679430?s=20)

Mariupol. Source: AP/Evgeniy Maloletka