Millions of children in Ukraine displaced as Russia continues attacks

Millions of children in Ukraine displaced as Russia continues attacks



Russia launched more deadly rocket attacks today. They're tearing eastern Ukraine apart. And I wondered what it's like to be a child after a year of this. So we're on our way to a surprisingly rare place, a school. Education in Ukraine is now online. But out here by the front line, there's no Internet. So the children still left huddled together to learn.

So we were planning to take this road and this bridge this morning until we got here and realized there is no bridge anymore. And this is one thing they do not show you on Google Maps. But they're not easy to find. Many villages look abandoned. So this is the school. They've asked us not to film it from the outside so we don't expose their location. They're that worried that if the Russians knew where children are that they would be targeted and destroyed.

And the Russians have bombed many hospitals, many places where vulnerable people are. Oh, and all the children are coming to attention like I'm the teacher. Hello. Hello. Hello. How are you? Hello. Miss Darina is the only teacher.

Here there's heat and friends. But the fighting is always on their minds. Daria is nine. Last night there was shelling very close to our house. I was in bed and very scared, she says. When you hear the shoot and you hear the explosion, what do you do? Do you cover your ears? Do you think about something else? I close my ears and lay in the bed like this, she says. I close my eyes and go under the blanket to protect myself if there's any shrapnel.

Sometimes I go under the bed. Do you have enough food at home? Yes, yes. Yes, when the humanitarian aid comes, there's canned meat or rice. And it's enough for us, she says. Stas is ten. What do you miss most about peace? I miss my cousin. He's in Poland now, he says.

Is he your best friend? He's my best brother. Four and a half million Ukrainian children have been displaced. Half of them taken out of the country. Those who stayed are being raised underground. What's it like to be a child in Ukraine right now? I feel so sorry for our kids, she says. Kids run and play. Our kids have to hide in the basement all the time.

Who here wants this war to end? Very quickly. Yeah, thoughts up. Both hands up, everyone's got both hands up. Thank you very much. For so many children in the most war-torn parts of Ukraine, these hidden schools are the only oasis.



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