Themes by tag: children

On March 28, Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing titled “The return of Ukrainian children abducted by russia as a step toward peace: How the International community can accelerate the process”

Participants:

– Kateryna Rashevska, PhD in International Law, Expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights. 

Key topics:

– How can peace negotiations influence the process of returning abducted children?

– The current status of efforts to return Ukrainian children abducted by russia: statistics and progress;

– How has the process of returning children changed recently?

– Who is currently involved in the return of Ukrainian children from russia and how?

Why is this important?

The return of Ukrainian children illegally abducted to russian territory has become a pressing international issue and one of the key elements in the peace talks. Recently, U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz stated that Washington considers the return of deported Ukrainian children by russia as a potential confidence-building measure.

• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The only pediatric burn center in western Ukraine that accepts the most critical cases will now be able to treat children at home – in Ukraine – instead of sending them abroad, as was previously the case. St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv now has everything it needs to save young patients with severe burns. The grand opening of the updated pediatric burn center will take place on March 28.

Approximately 12,000 children in Ukraine suffer from burns every year. The war has exacerbated the situation, as any mine or explosion injury is often accompanied by severe thermal trauma.

St. Nicholas Hospital is now fully equipped to care for pediatric burn patients, with advanced and expensive intensive care equipment, a specialized burn bed, a dedicated treatment room, and a laser for post-burn scar resurfacing.

Patients will attend the opening, including Robert, a fifth-grader who tried to replicate a popular TikTok trend by making a homemade firecracker. As a result, he suffered severe chemical burns to his face.

At the opening, members of the media will have the opportunity to speak with Robert and other children who have suffered burns in a variety of circumstances – as well as their parents, doctors, and representatives from socially responsible companies. Prior to the official opening, journalists will also have the opportunity to attend a training session led by the hospital’s burn surgeons for Lviv schoolchildren. The training will teach first aid for burns and raise awareness about the dangers of TikTok trends.

Registration is required for the event.

• casualties
• children
• doctors
• Lviv

Viktoriia Didovets, a charge nurse in the Intensive and Efferent Therapy Department for Acute Intoxication at the National Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt, was injured during a missile strike on the hospital on July 8, 2024. As the attack unfolded, she was evacuating children on dialysis to a shelter when a missile struck the building.

By the time Viktoriia was rushed to the operating room, her pulse was barely detectable. She was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, an open hip fracture, a ruptured liver, and injuries to her face and ear. For more than eight months, she has been undergoing treatment, determined to regain a full life.

By prior arrangement, Viktoriia is available for interviews in Kyiv or online.

Background: On July 8, 2024, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital. At the time of the attack, 627 children were inside.

The strike killed two people—a doctor and a patient’s relative—while injuring 35 others, including nine children. On July 10, a boy who had been in critical condition in intensive care at the time of the attack succumbed to his injuries in a Kyiv hospital.

• casualties
• children
• doctors
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

On March 19, FRIDA Ukraine will lead a one-day medical mission to an orphanage in Tarascha, Kyiv Oblast—their second visit to the facility. The orphanage houses approximately 70 school-age children, some of whom have parents deprived of parental rights, while others have medical conditions such as autism or Down syndrome.

The volunteer medical team includes specialists in pediatrics, dermatovenerology, pediatric neurology, ophthalmology, pediatric endocrinology, ultrasound diagnostics, surgery/urology, psychology, and otolaryngology.

Photo and Video Guidelines: Close-up images of children’s faces are strictly prohibited in photo and video materials. Only general shots or images capturing children from behind or in profile are permitted.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission dedicated to assisting civilians. Its volunteer doctors provide specialized medical care to Ukrainians affected by the war.

• children
• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv

On March 16, Ukraine will hold an annual event to honor the victims of the Mariupol Drama Theater tragedy. Mariupol residents and all those who remember are invited to light candles near theater buildings across the country in a tribute to those lost.

Commemorative gatherings will take place in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Zaporizhia (March 15), Ivano-Frankivsk, Kalush, Lviv, Kyiv, Kamianske, Kremenchuk, Rivne, Ternopil, Uzhhorod, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa.

Background: On March 16, 2022, russian forces dropped bombs on the Mariupol Drama Theater, despite the russian word for “children,” “ДЕТИ”(DETY), written in large, clearly visible white letters on the pavement outside the building. At the time, hundreds of Mariupol families were sheltering there, seeking refuge from relentless russian shelling. The attack claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians, including children.

The Mariupol Drama Theater has since become a harrowing symbol—of brutality and destruction, of Mariupol’s suffering, of Ukraine’s pain. It remains an enduring testament to a russian war crime the world must never forget.

• children
• dead
• russian crimes
• Dnipro
• Kyiv
• Lviv
• Odesa

Sarah, a U.S. citizen, has been living and working in Kyiv for the past year and a half. She joined the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, which assists war-affected children. Sarah mainly focuses on humanitarian issues.

Sarah first visited Ukraine as a teenager, both as a tourist and as a humanitarian worker. During the full-scale war in 2022, she volunteered for two months across Ukraine, providing aid on the ground. After earning her university degree in 2023, she returned and chose to settle in Kyiv. She finds inspiration in exploring new cities, especially near the front lines, where she feels life’s meaning most deeply.

Journalists can meet and speak with Sarah in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• children
• women
• Kyiv

On February 26, the premiere of a film created by 14 teenagers during the “Storytelling in Cinema” course of the Voices of Children Foundation and Ukrainian director Marysia Nikitiuk will take place in Kyiv.

The event will also include a discussion on “Growing up in war: how to help children cope with this difficult experience” with the participation of the children who worked on the movie, the director Marysia Nikitiuk, Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children Foundation and human rights activist, Olha Aivazovska, Chairperson of the Board of the Civil Network OPORA, and Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Rights and Nobel Laureate.

The film “Generation” was created by young people from all over Ukraine who have experienced the hardships of war: evacuation, forced displacement within Ukraine and abroad, finding themselves in a new place, losing social ties, living under occupation, and surviving in frontline regions.

As part of Voices of Children’s “Storytelling in Cinema” project, director Marysia Nikitiuk and psychologist Dariia Parshyntseva met with the teens for five months to develop scripts. The course culminated in seven days of filmmaking in the mountains, where the young participants brought their stories to life.

Registration required

Background: Voices of Children Foundation provides psychological, psychosocial and humanitarian support to children and families affected by war. The Foundation helps children cope with the psychological effects of armed conflict and advocates for their rights.

The International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) is a public diplomacy platform founded in Warsaw by Ukrainian civil society activists to engage global thought leaders in support of Ukraine. The Center’s mission is to mobilize the world for Ukraine’s victory.

• casualties
• children
• culture
• Kyiv

13-year-old Ukrainian Yana Stepanenko, who lost both her legs in a rocket attack on the Kramatorsk railway station in 2022, will run in the Tokyo Marathon on March 1, following her triumph in Boston last year. Media representatives are invited to attend her open training session in Lviv on February 19.

In Japan, Yana will run 5 kilometers on running prostheses to raise funds for two sports prostheses for Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Zhavnenko, who lost both legs on the front line. Oleksandr dreams of returning to an active lifestyle – playing sports, running and dancing. He was a dancer before the war, and his greatest wish is to return to the dance floor and waltz with his wife again.

Media accreditation is required for this event.

Background: In 2024, Yana completed a 5K run in the Boston Marathon and successfully raised funds for a sports prosthesis for Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Riasnyi.

On April 8, 2022, Yana Stepanenko lost both her legs as a result of a terrorist attack by russian forces on the railway station in Kramatorsk. A photo of her being carried in the arms of a surgeon from the First Medical Association of St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv went around the world.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Lviv

Your Support family center for mental health was established last year in Ukraine’s Kyiv region with a mission to help children and their families cope with the psychological effects of war. The center focuses on strengthening emotional resilience and ensuring the healthy development of each child.

A team of psychologists, special education experts, neuropsychologists, lawyers, and employment specialists provides all services free of charge. In just over a year, the center’s experts have offered more than 6,000 consultations. Among those they have helped is a 6-year-old boy who stopped speaking after experiencing shell shock, and a mother raising her 7-year-old son alone, whose child, under immense stress, lost control of his body.

Support is available both online and in person by appointment, allowing families to connect with specialists and others who have benefited from the center’s assistance.

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

On February 23, an international charity race will take place to mark the third anniversary of the full-blown war and raise funds for the children who lost one or both parents due to the russian invasion of Ukraine. The goal is to raise 50,000 EUR to provide psychological support for children who have lost their parents to the war.

The event will be held in several cities, including Kyiv, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Krakow, Porto, Rotterdam, Stockholm, and Funchal.

For reference: The event is organized by the Ukrainian Running Club and the Children of Heroes Foundation.

• children
• Kyiv