Scarred by violence, Ukrainian children deal with war trauma
In Ukraine, 14-year-old Mykyta recalls the day he received a phone call he would never forget.
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On the morning he received the call, 14-year-old Mykyta was in geometry class. Due to the fighting that had been raging on the outskirts of his home town, the lesson was being held online. Mykyta was listening to his teacher when his mother rang – but when he answered, he could only hear background noise. Suddenly, his hands began to shake.
Natalia, his mother, worked at a local humanitarian hub. The town, in Orikhiv, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhska region, had been heavily shelled multiple times, but Natalia was determined to distribute bread and medicine to pensioners and the wounded. It took three calls for Mykyta to make out his mother’s voice – and on the third call, all she could utter was "help".
Mykyta hardly remembers getting into his father’s car and driving to the humanitarian hub. But what he saw later, he would never forget.
"Everything in the hub was broken and bread was scattered on the floor. I saw my mother's colleague – he was dead. Then I saw my mother lying in rubble. She was covered in blood and her leg was missing. But she was alive.”
"I saw the tanks coming to my school"
Today, Mykyta's family is still dealing with the aftermath. They left their home, terrified of the violence. Natalia had to learn to live with an artificial leg. Oleksandr, Mykyta’s father, is working hard to rent a house in Zaporizhzhia and pay for his wife's ongoing treatment. And Mykyta is trying to cope with stress, which has led to problems with blood pressure and mental health.
The family dreams of a better future.
"What happened has brought us closer together,” says Mykyta. “We have always lived very close to each other, but now we also share support. We want it to be like that forever. I wish the war would end, and we could go home.”
When Mykyta's hands tremble and the weakness, breathlessness and headaches overcome him, he longs for his pre-war life.
"I want everything to be the way it used to be. A quiet childhood, games of hide and seek, picnics, and my parents working.”
Since the full-scale war broke out in Ukraine in February 2022, Mykyta’s fond childhood memories have been replaced by the roar of tanks and planes overhead.
"I saw tanks coming towards my school. Then they started shooting at it, at the town. First, we didn't understand what was happening. The lights were flickering and there were explosions. We moved away from the windows and hid.”
For several anxious months after the outbreak of violence, the family stayed at home, often hiding in the cellar. Mykyta even celebrated his thirteenth birthday there.
"I had to set an example for my son"
After Natalia’s injury, the family decided to flee Orikhiv.
"It was a normal day for my mother, she was helping people as always,” says Mykyta. “All of a sudden, the humanitarian headquarters came under fire. Unfortunately, shrapnel wounded her leg so it had to be amputated. Two of her fingers were cut off and she had many shrapnel wounds on her body and eyes. I went to help her. But when I saw her colleague, a woman with a piece of shrapnel in her head, I lost consciousness.”
Mykyta breathes heavily as he recalls the events of that day. An ambulance took his mother to intensive care, and he was admitted to a children's hospital with high blood pressure and shock.
There, his father told him that his mother would recover after undergoing a few complex surgeries. Natalia says that her son’s support gave her the strength to fight for her life.
"I remember when he came and kissed my hand and sat by my bed. Then I started to eat. I thought I had to show my resilience and set an example for my son.”
“It's impossible to forget everything”
Even in Zaporizhzhia, where the family now rent, shelling is heard from time to time and the air raid sirens often sound. But here in the big city, the family has better access to crucial medical services. As a result of the loss of her leg and numerous wounds, Natalia has developed diabetes. Mykyta's condition also remains serious.
"It's impossible to forget everything that happened,” says Mykyta, who must check his blood pressure several times a day. “It has affected my health and so far my condition isn't improving.”
"Our life now lies from the hospital to the pharmacy," adds Natalia, wiping away her tears. "On the day of the shelling, I didn't know if I would survive. I wasn't sure if the doctors would save me. But I did know that my husband would save me and my son would come to help. That's why I called home first instead of an ambulance. Our support keeps us going. We try to enjoy the little things, like feeding the birds, watering the flowers, spending evenings together.”
Mykyta continues to study online and plans to work with a psychotherapist, who will be able to help him cope with the stress he has experienced.
UNICEF provides psycho-emotional support to children and adults to help them cope with the devastating impact of war. According to UNICEF estimates last year, 1.5 million children are at risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems. Through UNICEF and partner efforts, about 2.5 million people received psycho-emotional support in 2023.
