Themes by tag: children
On October 10, 20 children in Lviv will get a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get hands-on experience in robotic surgery using Ukraine’s only Da Vinci Si system. For the first time, they will step into the role of surgeon, operating the very robot that helped save their lives.
The session coincides with the opening of a new, state-of-the-art operating theater at St. Nicholas Hospital, built from scratch in just one year with support from the Scottish charity Kids OR. The organization, which has renovated 101 operating theaters in 35 countries, is bringing its expertise to Ukraine for the first time. The new facility will significantly expand the hospital’s surgical capacity at a time when its workload has tripled since the start of the war.
The session will take place in the hospital’s old operating room, after which the Da Vinci system will be moved to the new theater. Since the first pediatric robotic surgery in Ukraine 18 months ago, Lviv doctors have completed 106 procedures – the most in Eastern Europe. Their youngest patient was just two months old.
Registration is required to attend.
Maryna and Serhii Vovkodav, parents of five daughters, once ran a small business and lived in their own home in Orikhiv, Zaporizhia region.
Then the war upended everything. In April 2022, volunteers helped the family evacuate, and they settled into an empty apartment in Zaporizhia, with no furniture or appliances. They had to cook on the windowsill and eat meals at a bedside table.
By chance, Maryna learned about a program offering housing for displaced families at zero rent, with ownership granted after five years. She applied, and the family was eventually selected.
The new home is part of a micro-settlement built last year in Chernihiv by the District #1 Charitable Foundation, which constructed 13 houses for families displaced from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and other regions. Today, the foundation has the capacity to build 50-100 houses annually, each adapted to the needs of different families.
The Vovkodav family now lives in their new home in the Kyiv region. By prior arrangement, journalists can meet with them in person.
On September 26, the Media Center Ukraine will host the presentation of an analytical report: “How russia is erasing Ukrainian identity under the guise of fighting extremism”.
Participants:
– Mariia Krasnenko, report author, expert at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda;
– Tetiana Lychko, documentarian at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda;
– Valentina Potapova, head of Direction of National Advocacy at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda;
Key topics:
– How anti-extremism laws are being used to suppress Ukrainian culture and enforce a “all-russian identity”;
– Pressure tactics targeting teachers, students, and school communities in occupied territories under the pretext of “countering extremism”;
– Measures needed at the national and international levels to protect the Ukrainian identity of children in occupied territories;
– Examples of successful strategies already in place to counter russian ideological influence on Ukrainian children’s worldview through education.
Background: Since 2014, russia has not only conducted military aggression but also pursued a systematic campaign of ideological control in occupied territories. Under the pretext of “fighting extremism”, moscow has used legislation to target anyone preserving Ukrainian language, culture, and identity, with children and schools among the primary targets.
On October 2 in Kyiv, as part of the 16th Odesa International Film Festival, the documentary Children in the Fire (Ukraine, USA, and the Czech Republic; directed by Evgeny Afineevsky) will premiere. The film documents crimes committed against Ukrainian children during the war, including abduction, deportation, and attempts at forced assimilation.
Subjects include Valeriia Sydorova, from Nova Kakhovka, who survived russian occupation and deportation to Crimea; Yana Stepanenko, who lost her legs in a russian missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station; and Vladislav Buryak, who endured russian captivity. You can read the children’s detailed stories here.
Despite their traumatic experiences, the eight young protagonists continue to believe in the future and are pursuing careers as athletes, artists, and civil servants.
The film has already been screened at festivals in Monte Carlo, Raindance, and Documentaries Without Borders.
Journalists will have the opportunity to speak with the children featured in the film and the creative team. Registration is required to attend the event.
On September 23, Kyiv will host an award ceremony for the winners of the all-Ukrainian essay and poster contest, “I Hear You: Supporting a Peer Under Occupation”. The ceremony will showcase the works of winners and laureates, each serving as a message of support for peers living under temporary occupation. These messages have already been heard.
Event program:
- Presentation of the exhibition “I Hear You: Supporting a Peer Under Occupation”;
- Addresses by representatives of state institutions and contest jury members;
- Award ceremony for contest winners.
The contest was organized for the second time by the Almenda Civic Education Center. The goal of the contest is to promote understanding and empathy within Ukrainian society regarding the challenges faced by children in temporarily occupied territories. Nearly 700 works were submitted in the essay and social poster categories by children from various regions of Ukraine.
The organizers invite media representatives, civil society organizations, and all interested parties to attend the event and cover the ceremony. They also encourage attendees to share stories about children using creativity to support their peers under occupation.
The contest received support from Ukrainian artists Oleksandr Grekhov and Kateryna Babkina, as well as the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the Presidential Representation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the Children’s Rights Protection Center of the Ombudsman’s Office.
Registration for the event is required and will be open until September 21.
Background: The event is organized within the framework of the “Childhood Protection: Justice and Reintegration for Children from TOT” project, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic under the Transition Promotion Program.
Last week, 16 children were rescued from an occupied area as part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, which was launched by the President of Ukraine and carried out with the help of the Save Ukraine team.
- 17-year-old Milana had to wait for her mother, who was held captive in a basement for three days without food or water — simply because the girl’s father is a Ukrainian soldier. She endured searches, polygraph tests, and humiliation, and was threatened with being “dumped in the Dnipro River.” Milana lived in constant fear that her mother would disappear forever.
- 17-year-old Mark went to school and was registered for military conscription. After a “psychological test”, russian soldiers took him and some of his classmates to a military enlistment office without parental consent. The boy nearly became an orphan when a drone hit his parents’ car — they survived by a miracle.
- 2-year-old Solomiia also miraculously survived the occupation. When the girl woke up at night with a fever of 40°C, her mother, Olena, unable to call an ambulance, decided to drive her daughter to the hospital herself. However, russian soldiers refused to let their car cross the bridge, threatening to smash the windows. Olena then carried Solomiia across a pontoon bridge in the darkness.
- The family of 14-yearian Alina barely managed to flee the occupation in time to avoid being left homeless. The occupying authorities threatened to seize their apartment. They were initially refused passage at the checkpoint until the girl deleted all Ukrainian channels from her phone.
Today, they are all safe. They are undergoing rehabilitation, recovering documents, and receiving psychological support and assistance with housing. They now have a roof over their heads and ongoing support.
Journalists may speak with Save Ukraine representatives by prior arrangement.
With support from partners, the savED Charity Foundation has set up two underground educational spaces in the de-occupied city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv oblast. These spaces will enable hundreds of local children to participate offline in extracurricular activities within their community.
The first learning center, which spans over 110 square meters, is located in the bomb shelter of a lyceum in Balakliia. Since the start of the full-scale war, students at this institution have only been able to learn online. In spring 2025, russian UAVs struck the lyceum twice, damaging the roof and one wing of the building.
In 2023, the savED Charity Foundation, supported by U-Lead, created the Vulyk (Beehive) Educational Center to restore access to in-person after-school classes at the lyceum. There, students could participate in extracurricular activities with teachers. Thanks to KFC Ukraine’s charitable “Star Donation” campaign this year, the foundation was able to equip an additional underground space for lyceum students. The shelter now contains six classrooms and areas for sports, reading, dining, and relaxation. The project cost over 2.8 million hryvnia.
The SavED Foundation established a second underground educational space in Balakliia, in another city lyceum. The institution was damaged by russian airstrikes at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and looted by russian troops during the occupation. With the help of partners from tsukat IT company and Adobe, SavED was able to furnish a learning space in the lyceum’s shelter that can hold over a hundred students at once. The project cost over 390,000 hryvnia.
At just 16, Sofiia has lived through more than most her age. When russia’s full-scale invasion forced her family to leave Kyiv, they resettled in Switzerland, where she faced months of loneliness and difficulty adjusting to an unfamiliar culture. Seeking support, she turned to the Voices of Children Foundation, where online counseling sessions helped her manage stress and gradually find her footing in a new community.
For a school project, Sofiia chose to honor a powerful symbol of her homeland: the AN-225 Mriya airplane, the world’s largest cargo plane that was destroyed in the early days of the war. With painstaking effort, she built a model of the aircraft by hand, measuring 113 by 110 centimeters. When she unveiled it at a school presentation, Sofiia spoke to classmates, teachers, and parents about the war in Ukraine and the hardships children endure under constant russian attacks. She appealed to the Swiss community to donate and stand with Ukrainians in need.
Her project grew into something bigger. Determined to expand her effort, Sofiia launched a large-scale fundraiser to support children most affected by the war. Ukrainian businesses soon took notice. Inspired by her initiative, the Voices of Children Foundation partnered with SkyUp Airlines and the jewelry brand Kochut to launch a charity drive aiming to raise 500,000 hryvnias (about USD 12,500). Proceeds will fund vital psychological support for children in frontline regions who have lived through the trauma of war.
Journalists can arrange online interviews with Sofiia, as well as speak with representatives of the Voices of Children Foundation in Kyiv.
In partnership with IREX and with funding from U.S. taxpayers, the savED Charitable Foundation has opened modular, temporary learning spaces in the Pervomaiska and Shevchenkivska communities of the Mykolaiv oblast. This initiative will enable over 500 local children to resume in-person learning.
Throughout 2022, the Pervomaiska community — which received one of the temporary learning spaces — was on the frontline of combat and suffered significant destruction. Specifically, a russian attack destroyed a secondary school in one of its villages. In 2023, savED established an educational center called “Vulyk” (The Hive) in a local family medicine clinic, where students could participate in interactive extracurricular sessions with tutors. However, this was insufficient to restore full-scale education for the hundreds of children in the community. The new modular space will enable 220 local students to resume in-person schooling.
Shevchenkivska is the second community to receive a modular temporary learning space. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the community has been on the frontline, with some of its settlements enduring eight months of occupation.
The temporary learning spaces are barrier-free and child-friendly. Each of the six classrooms features high ceilings, comfortable furniture, tablets, and interactive multimedia panels. The facilities also include a large inclusive restroom, a teachers’ lounge, and a server room. The entrance is equipped with a ramp. Alternative power sources enable the spaces to operate fully during electricity outages.
It is worth noting that students in Bohdanivka, a village in the Kyiv oblast, where russians burned down the local school, students now study in a similar modular temporary learning space.
Background: Temporary learning spaces are built by benefactors using reliable modular structures in communities where schools have been damaged due to russian aggression or where the infrastructure needs to be expanded due to an increase in student enrollment, including internally displaced persons.
A presentation of the study “The deportation and forced displacement of Ukrainian children from occupied territories through the lens of changing russian propaganda narratives”, will be held at the Media Center Ukraine on September 11.
russia is systematically deporting Ukrainian children from occupied territories, depriving them of their national identity, family ties, and future. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is launching a large-scale propaganda campaign to justify or conceal these crimes.
The study demonstrates how russian narratives have evolved — from outright denial of deportations to attempts to portray them as “humanitarian aid” or “rescue missions”. The study focuses on the fate of children as tools of information warfare and the challenges faced by Ukrainian society and the international community.
During the event:
- The authors will present the study’s key findings;
- Experts will explain why russia uses children in propaganda;
- Participants will discuss strategies for shifting narratives and effectively countering disinformation.
Speakers include:
- Authors of the study;
- Representatives of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative;
- Experts in countering propaganda and disinformation.
Registration is required for the event.
Background: The study was conducted with financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The content of the publication reflects the authors’ views and does not necessarily represent NED’s position.
