This is how war is affecting the children of Ukraine

It’s no secret that, after over two years of war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has started to take its toll on Ukrainian children.

According to Human Rights Watch, since the start of the war in February 2022, around 4,000 schools and kindergartens have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine.

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Most of the damage to educational facilities has been the result of aerial strikes, artillery shelling, and being hit by rockets.

In some instances, there have been reports of Russian soldiers looting schools in occupied territories, which constitute a war crime.

UNICEF estimated that, by January 2023, 5.3 million children had their education affected due to the ongoing conflict, out of which 3.6 million have been directly affected by schools closing down.

According to a survey shared by United Nations, the educational level of Ukrainian children has been deteriorated since the beginning of the war.

By August 2023, 57% of children showed a slump when it comes to literacy and language skills. A similar drop, of 45%, could be observed on math abilities.

“Ukrainian children have paid a high price in this war because attacks on education are attacks on their future,” comments Hugh Williamson, director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch on their website.

“The international community should condemn the damage and destruction of schools in Ukraine and looting by Russian forces”, adds the regional director of Human Rights Watch.

According to EuroNews, the realities of war have also shaped the school curriculum. Kids in Ukraine are taught, for instance, what a mine looks like and what to do if they found one.

Meanwhile, the United Nations reported that, by August 2023, one third of Ukrainian children were attending in-person classes, another third was studying solely online, and another third was using a mixed approach.

In a February 2024 piece, The Financial Times revealed that over 90% of children living in the regions bordering Russia, where the war has been taking place for the most part, were using remote learning.

In some places, such as the city of Kharkiv, young students can attend underground schools built in shelters and subway stations. However, these can’t cover the needs of all the school age population.

“We don’t put an emphasis on what’s happening, and we try not to talk to the children about it. When they start talking about the war among themselves, we try to tone it down,” Kharkiv school teacher Anastasia Provotorova told The Financial Times.

According to German news magazine Die Spiegel, Ukrainian youth are at the risk of becoming something of a lost generation.

Die Spiegel writes that 1.5 million Ukrainian children are at risk or have started to show signs of dealing with depression, PTSD, stress, anxiety, and psychotic disorders.

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Sadly, the long-lasting effects of the children growing up in the middle of the war started out by Vladimir Putin remains to be seen in the years to come.