Ukrainian children under fire: many teenagers do not want to think about their future after war, - media
Russian aggression has turned Ukraine's skies into a source of constant fear for children. Most schoolchildren are forced to study online, taking refuge in shelters during air raid alerts, writes The Atlantic.
Journalist Robert Worth notes that Russia has destroyed about 3,500 schools and damaged churches and cultural sites in an attempt to eradicate Ukrainian identity, Censor.NET reports.
As a result of the war, Ukrainian children are isolated, deprived of communication and a sense of security. Educators are noting serious gaps in education: some 10-year-old children still cannot read. Despite this, communities are creating underground schools and children's centers to give children at least some semblance of a normal life.
"If the children are all unhappy, what are you fighting for?" says Kharkiv psychologist Iryna Markevych, founder of the "Mobile School of Resilience".
Psychologists note that the emotional trauma of war runs deep: children lose faith in the future and become irritable and anxious.
"Kids would come in and just touch another child. They didn’t have the experience of being close to others," said Iryna Glazunova, an educator from Staryi Saltiv. Despite the pain and losses, teenagers still talk about responsibility for Ukraine's future.
