Children from Ukraine in Belarus
History in photo
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Bogdan does not like to play “war” with his friends, but he likes to fight with swords. Olya misses her pets she left behind in Ukraine. Diana misses the toys she left at home and believes that they are intact despite the fact that her house where she grew up is in ruins now.
We have collected a series photos of children who arrived in Belarus from Ukraine.
“There was a bang next morning,” an 8-year-old Olya recalls the events that took place a year ago. — Here, in Belarus, it's quiet, I'm glad about it. Thank God that they are not bombing, and we will not run into the corridor every night.”
Olya is wise beyond her years: she calmly tells how her family left Ukraine, how they settled in Belarus, how many friends she has made.
“It's beautiful here. I like it. I just miss our cats: we had a black and white girl cat and a gray boy cat. I have pics, would you like to see them? We had to leave the cats behind: mom and dad were crying. Now the cats have other owners.”
Liosha, 10, came to Belarus from Konstantinovka, Ukraine, with his parents and his brother Yarik in March 2022. In Ukraine, Liosha was involved in athletics, football and kickboxing. All his equipment was left behind, as they were only allowed to take three bags with them. In Minsk, Liosha likes to ride his bike and train at the gym near his house. “Mom bought me a bike. I love biking fast: I listen to the wind and forget about everything.”
“How can you fit your whole life in one suitcase?”, Tatyana, the mother of 10-year-old Vadim asks in confusion, not expecting an answer. “We left everything behind in Ukraine. We had to pack up very quickly. I took the minimum number of children's things, the minimum of my things. Of course, all school supplies were left at home, as well as clothes.”
In Belarus, UNICEF in Belarus has given cash vouchers to refugee families from Ukraine to buy stationery, school briefcases, clothes and other necessary things in specialized stores.
“Warm clothes are the most relevant now,” Tatyana continues. “We bought a hat, boots, and a jacket. I’m relaxed because Vadim can go to school. During this time — despite his 10 years — you cannot even imagine how much he has matured.”
“I knew every stone at home,” says 8-year-old Yegor sadly; he and his sister came to Zhlobin, Belarus from Mariupol, Ukraine in spring.
“ I like it here, too. In Belarus, I make new friends, play outside. I make a new friend every day. I have met Timofey recently. At school, I am friends with everyone, even with a boy who is not friends with anyone. But real friends are hard to make.”
Bogdan, 9, came to Belarus with his family from Mariupol, Ukraine, in the summer of 2022.
“My friends and I love to fight with sticks, as if it were a sword fight,” says Bogdan. “I used to like to play war. Not anymore: only swords. I like the camp, I don’t want to leave.”
Bogdan, along with other 90 children from Ukraine, joined a summer “health camp” organized by UNICEF the Belarusian Red Cross for children from Ukraine. Psychologists worked with children in the health camps.
“Belarus is cool. We'll stay here for now. And we have nowhere to go back to as our house burned down.”
“Danik knows that if there is a plane in the sky, you should go to the basement.” His mother Tatyana recalls when they did not make it to the basement when a shell exploded nearby. This was the last straw. Tatyana quickly packed her bags, took her son and left Mariupol. She managed to put only Danik’s things into the bag, and the only clothing she had with her was the pants and a jacket in which she ran away. Now, Tatyana and Danik live in Gomel, Belarus.
“My toys are alive back home!” says little Diana from Papasnaya, Ukraine, who now lives with her mother in the Gomel region, Belarus.
Diana knows that a shell hit their house in Ukraine and that it is now in ruins. But she believes that her favorite toys have survived...
“The fact that we don’t hear air alert sirens here, that we don’t have to run anywhere, the lively communication between children in the classroom is very pleasing,” says Natalia, the grandmother of Vivienne. Together, they moved from Zaporozhye, Ukraine, to the Pruzhany region, Belarus.
“My parents raised me this way: you should never give up, you should always hope for the best,” Natalia continues. “We will learn to live in a new environment. Let's learn to see the good that is around us. And there's a lot of good stuff here.”
UNICEF and its partners continue to work in Ukraine and neighboring countries, including Belarus, to provide children and their families with humanitarian aid, child protection, water and sanitation, health services, nutrition and education services.
Although these children and their families cannot go back to Ukraine just yet, we must support them so that they can continue living in Belarus. We work with partners to make sure that all the basic needs of children are met. We provide them with clothes, hygiene items, educational materials, psychological support, access to education and healthcare. And their parents and caregivers know where to turn for help and support.
Thanks to our work, 2,160 children and their caregivers have received psychosocial support, over 650 have received targeted financial assistance (cash vouchers), over 1,700 have received hygiene kits, and more than 185,000 have received information about needed services.
UNICEF will continue working and expanding our support to the children of Ukraine in 2023.
