CHILDREN OF WAR

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On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukraininan War that began in 2014

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Since then,

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These are just 4 of the million of faces behind the numbers

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Davyd, 7

lies on sandbags near a camp for internally displaced people in Lviv, Ukraine.

He currently lives in a modular unit inside the camp. Before the war, he lived in a 3-bedroom apartment at Kramatorsrk.

Three days before leaving their home, the family visited Kramatorsk train station to know about the schedule of evacuations.

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Every time the air raid sirens sound, Davyd gets scared and cries, so I always try to be nearby to comfort him whenever that happens.

Davy, sits in a UNICEF-supported bomb shelter while visiting School No. 1 in Lviv, Ukraine, where he will attend classes in September.

He misses his previous school, but he is excited about learning and playing with kids again and pursuing his dream of becoming a dentist.

I will treat grown-ups and children. I'll clean their teeth and drill them. I need to study a lot to become a dentist to know what dentists do.

Mariia, 12

remained in Kharkiv through months of a brutal shelling campaign – her father was conscripted into the military and her mother works in a shoe factory.

We had to go down to the shelter when the houses around us were being bombed … Our area was under shelling and I’d be down there with my friends holding hands.

Checking her drawings at home. She wants to be a graphic designer and a psychologist. She was keen to go back to school in September to follow her dreams but...

... much of the school was recently destroyed in an air strike. So now she will have to learn on line.

Alina and Artem, 9

Both children have spent three months studying remotely in a dark, dank underground car park.

Alina tries to focus on studying. But the internet connection is unreliable, so she has to risk trips upstairs to her family’s apartment. Her lessons are frequently interrupted by air raid sirens..

I have sad days, middle-sad days, but there are no wonderful days.

Alina's parents have done their best to make it homely, building wooden beds and using extension cords to provide electricity for tea and heaters. But temperatures can plummet.

Before the war broke out in February, Artem lived in a cosy apartment with his family. Now, living below ground just brings cramped, damp, and unsanitary conditions.

The dramatic escalation of the war in Ukraine has left millions of people, including children, in need of safety, protection, humanitarian support, and education.

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Less than 60% of schools deemed safe and eligible to reopen

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UNICEF is developing a national effort to ensure safe, quality learning (Back to School) No more sirens. Just kids.

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Photo credit:

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