Ukraine’s children adapt to survive Russia’s invasion | BBC News

since Russia launched its fullscale invasion of Ukraine almost 2,000 children have been injured or killed but the suffering is not only physical child psychologists report a catastrophic surge in young people across the country struggling with symptoms that include panic attacks and depression our Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah reinford reports on Ukraine’s children growing up under Fire Angelina lives in the ruin of a war that’s transformed her childhood her kindergarten was destroyed in Russian shelling and the 8-year-old’s head is full of memories from when Russian forces first tried to take har it was very scary when I was in the basement I thought when will it all end there were Rockets flying it was frightening and there was a plane that flew over us Angelina’s family fled then through all this desperate for safety but they came back last year because this is home despite everything her mom shows me the shrapnel marks in the kitchen and now Russia is attacking again if they start bombing then I tell Mommy that I’ll go into into the corridor and she sits with me I think at least the corridor will survive an explosion har is just a few miles from the Russian border and it’s a nervous place again but Ukraine’s children are growing up under Fire right across the country lra’s leg was shattered in a missile attack on her City last summer she is gradually healing physically at first I was really scared afraid of every little noise I’m not scared like that anymore but if they say there’s a missile heading for chhiv then I just go crazy it’s [Music] awful almost 2,000 children have been injured and killed since Vladimir Putin’s fullscale Invasion but not all the pain is visible we witness a catastrophic amount of children who started turning to us with different unpleasant symptoms do you think that there’s enough help for all the children who need it to be honest we have a very long queue we really do fera it’s the loss of her brother that’s hit hardest Sasha was killed on the front line line I used to look for his face in every person who passed on the street I don’t believe it even now then her sister produces Sasha’s last message Sasha sending his love from the front line the blue was Lara has not heard his voice since he died children are learning to live with the blackouts the loss and the loneliness and with the worry that there may yet be worse to come these school holidays are just a little bit strange but when I ask Angelina what she wants most she wants this war to end Sarah rainford BBC News

Close to 2,000 children have been injured or killed in Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion.

Child psychologists report a “catastrophic” surge in young people across the country struggling with symptoms that include panic attacks and depression.

Right across Ukraine, young people are experiencing loss, fear and anxiety. An increasing number struggle to sleep, have panic attacks or flashbacks.

Russian troops have recently crossed the border in a surprise offensive, taking new ground, and missile attacks on the city of Kharkiv have also increased.

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39 comments

  6. Remember the Cookie Monster Victoria Nuland on the the streets of Kiev in 2014 handing out cookies to Neo Nazis to illegally overthrow the Democratically Elected Government.

  10. and what are you talking about about the children of Lugansk and Donetsk? take a report on how Ukraine shelled the Zugres beach and about the Gorlovka Madonna, who died as a result of shelling of civilians by Ukrainians.

  14. When I was in (former) Yugoslavia during the war (I was a civilian contractor, driving heavy haul trucks), their was one thing that struck me in the heart the hardest, and that was the amount of orphans that came up to me begging for anything. Food, toys, clothes, or anything they could sell for a good price, like cigarettes, condoms and liquor.
    What hit me the hardest were the ones with recent lost limbs, hands, arms, and legs.
    Faces sometimes blown apart. This was from collecting copper and brass shell casings, to sell for scrap. Sometimes they would pick up a live one, or step on a landmine.
    I saw an orphaned 9-year-old taking care of her 5 year old brother and 2-year-old toddler sister.
    But what else were they going to do? They just had to keep on, keeping on.
    The resilience of these children, just left me in awe.
    I wanted to take them all home with me, and give them a proper life. But there was nothing I could really do.😢

  16. Nothing about the children of the Donbas region who have had to survive attacks from Ukraine? Do they not count or do they not fit the propaganda BBC?

  22. Some of these comments are seriously annoying. They're like "oH wHy DoNt YoU tAlK aBoUt PaLeStInIaN cHiLdReN"
    NOBODY'S IGNORING PALESTINE. THERE ARE MULTIPLE VIDEOS ON THE HUMANITARIAN CRIMES HAPPENING IN PALESTINE.
    These children, as the children in Palestine, are ALL suffering. They all need support, help, and aid. Why don't you stop commenting how people are "ignoring Palestine" and instead understand that Ukrainian children and Palestinian children both need help and international attention? They've all been through so much, and it's heartless for people to disregard one group's suffering. This video is about UKRAINE and another will be about PALESTINE. Please, people, try to bring both issues up, not just bring one down to try to raise the other.

  32. They are a bunch of hypocrites in England and we would have the same problem in the UK as in Ukraine if the Americans had not of demanded our Good Friday agreement , Language and citizenship reforms in NI , Wales and Scotland regional Governments . There would of been open war the same as Ukraine that there was here for 30 years in the absence of agreement .

  34. After months of me suggesting peace talks. Finally it might happen. Ukraine doesn't need more money or weapons. They need peace so their people and their nation can survive.

  35. How about thousands of innocent kids in Palestine have been inhumanly massacred and are being massacred by Isreal right now? Aren’t they not the human beings who deserve to survive??

  38. Ukraine kids can leave the frontlines anytime. Gazan kida are trapped in a 5x25km ghetto. Russians killed far less children on a longer frontline than the IDF over the same period of time. No BBC special coverage on Gazan children yet?

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