The lifestyle changed dramatically,” says Olena Rozvadovska, a children’s rights advocate and co-founder of Voices of Children, a Ukrainian children’s charity which support children and parents during wartime.
Behind the haunting images of decimated buildings in Mariupol, stories of vicious battles on the eastern frontline and fears of the geopolitical consequences of Vladimir Putin’s invasion, lies the shattering and traumatic impact of war on Ukraine’s children.
As of February 19, a total of 599 children have been killed and 1,762 injured due to Russian attacks, according to figures provided to The Independent by Daria Herasymchuk, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisor on children’s rights.
The trauma suffered by Ukrainian children, as the war drags out despite intensifying pushes for a ceasefire from the Trump administration, will impact the country long after the war is over.
Younger children are not learning how to communicate with each other, with the restrictions of war coming almost immediately after Covid restrictions, Ms Rozvadovska says, while teenagers have higher incidences of depression and anxiety.
