The Ukrainian children traumatised by invasion

Thousands of youngsters have lost much of their childhood to war but still dream about the future,

- Alex Croft

Thirteen-year-old Liza watched on as her home was destroyed by a Russian warplane during the liberation of her hometown in September 2022.

Months earlier, the small rural village of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, where Liza enjoyed a happy childhood playing piano and studying, was captured by invading Russian forces. Today, exactly three years have passed since the occupation of the country began.

Behind the 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.

“I remember then how I felt in that moment: like the whole world was broken for me, like the whole wide world was just turned to pieces,” Liza, now 15, says of the moment she first understood the gravity of what was happening. “I was happy, I had my happy childhood, and it never came back.”

After their home was destroyed, Liza and her mother lived in a basement for three weeks without electricity, gas, or water, before their evacuation to Kharkiv. Her father was forced to leave home for his job when the war began; Liza didn’t see him again until eight months after the invasion.

The war has been devastating for children in Ukraine. As of 19 February, a total of 599 children have been killed and 1,762 injured due to Russian attacks, according to figures provided toThe Independent by Daria Herasymchuk, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser on children’s rights.

Around 20,000 children have been forcibly deported or relocated to Russia. But the impact of three years of war on Ukraine’s children goes far beyond the casualties and the displaced.