Children of warPoint of view

Day of protection of children during war

Today, on International Children’s Day, Ukraine celebrates this holiday with tears in its eyes and a heavy burden on its heart. Instead of cheerful laughter and carefree games, children’s playgrounds were emptied, and the horror of the war unleashed by Russia is reflected in the eyes of the smallest Ukrainians. Russian war crimes ruthlessly steal childhood, leaving behind deep wounds in the souls of young Ukrainians who, instead of dreaming about the future, are forced to hide in shelters and experience the horrors of war.

Horrible crimes against children

Among the numerous tragedies caused by the Russians, it is especially painful to remember the deaths of children as a result of shelling of peaceful towns and villages. 8-year-old in Kharkiv this year a girl with her mother pulled out from under the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian missile. By according to the National Police,  On May 26, 2024, a 12-year-old girl died during an attack on the Epicenter shopping center. Also on May 23 it became known about another tragic loss – 4-year-old Zlata died in Odesa as a result of rocket fire. A fragment of a Russian rocket ended the life of a child, hitting her in the heart. Also, on March 8, 2022, another tragedy occurred in the village of Donets in the Kharkiv region, where an aerial bomb destroyed the house of the Kuznetsov family, 6-year-old Myroslava, who dreamed of becoming an artist, died under the rubble. In Mariupol because of shelling killed 14-year-old Roman Shvorin along with his mother, grandfather and grandmother.  November 23, 2023 In 2008, Russian rockets hit the maternity ward of a hospital in Vilniansk (Zaporizhia region), resulting in the death of a two-day-old boy, Kyrylo.

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For data According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, as of June 1, 2024, 550 children were killed and another 1,364 were injured as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The largest number of children were affected in Donetsk Oblast – 534, Kharkiv Oblast – 389, Kherson Oblast – 152, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast – 139, Kyiv Oblast – 130, Zaporizhia Oblast – 108, Mykolaiv Oblast – 107.

Consequences of war for children

In addition to physical injuries, war causes irreparable damage to children’s mental health. According to a study conducted by an analytical company Gradus Research, three quarters of Ukrainian children (75%) show symptoms of psychological trauma. They experience the fear of death, loss of loved ones, destruction of homes and separation from relatives.  Research of the Institute of Healthof children and adolescents of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine showed that the majority of children living in war zones show symptoms of emotional and behavioral disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety-phobic disorders and depression. Young children are especially vulnerable and find it difficult to verbalize their feelings and fears.

The birth of a new life

In Dnipro, despite constant shelling and air strikes, 15,500 children have been born since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Among them are 2.5 thousand children, born resettled women.

One of these stories is the story of Ksenia Hrytsenko, who gave birth to a girl Emilia in one of the Dnipro maternity hospitals. Despite the war, Ksenia and her husband decided to start a family. Thanks to the professional support of the medical staff and the comfortable conditions of the maternity hospital, the birth was successful.

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Day of protection of children during war

As of February 24, 2022, this maternity hospital has received 4,404 babies, including 21 twins. It is equipped with modern delivery rooms, simulators for birthing mothers, a separate room for premature babies and even has a shelter with operating and delivery rooms, autonomous power supply and all the necessary equipment.

The Zhytomyr regional perinatal center continues to work, providing medical assistance to pregnant women and women in labor. The head of the maternity department, Maria Tyshchenko, told IA “FACT” journalist Yulia Khomenko that there were cases when she had to give birth during power outages and even during shelling at the beginning of the war.

Day of protection of children during war

Nowadays, women are often not registered, such women are in the delivery room once a week. We see a high percentage of premature births. Pregnant women react differently to alarms: one is used to it, while the other has panic attacks at every sound of the siren. In general, during the entire war, twins are born quite often, two boys were born a couple of days ago“, Maryna Tyshchenko emphasized.

Day of protection of children during war
Photo: IA “FACT”

Recently, 24-year-old Karina from Zhytomyr region gave birth to a girl, Mia, and 41-year-old Antonina from Khoroshiv district gave birth to her fifth child, a boy, Yehor.

Unfortunately, the war brought not only the joy of birth, but also the pain of loss. Currently, 2,141 Ukrainian children are registered in the register of missing persons, but the real figure may be much higher.

 

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