Children of War

Ukraine have been resisting russia’s brutal aggression for a 50th day. 

As of April 14, 1014 educational institutions in Ukraine were damaged by shelling and bombing, 91 of them were totally destroyed.

According to the Juvenile Police Office of Ukraine 198 children have been killed, 354 were wounded. The exact figures will certainly be much higher, because of the situation in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol and other cities where thousands of people died under destroyed buildings and were buried in mass graves by russian troops. 

According to the UNICEF, as of March 24, 2022, more than 1.8 million children fled   abroad due to russia's attack on Ukraine.

Russians continue to commit genocide against Ukrainian children

Russia’s media began to publish information about the initiative of the president of the russian federation to amend the legislation to organize an accelerated procedure for the adoption of children from Donbass, after which the replacement of the family for the child will be impossible.

According to Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, more than 150,000 children have already been forcibly deported to russia. These are both orphans and those who have parents.

It is now known that some of the children were taken by the occupiers from Mariupol to Donetsk and in the direction of russian city, taganrog.

Russian invaders say they are orphans, but all orphans, including orphanages, were evacuated from Mariupol and centralized on February 24-25 during the first two days of the war. Such actions of the russian federation are a gross violation of Article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which provides that every child has the right to a name and citizenship, as well as the right to know their parents and the right to care, Article 49 of the Geneva Convention on Civil Protection   population during the war, which prohibits forced individual or mass resettlement or deportation.

In addition, Article 21 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that adoption in another country may be considered only as an alternative means of caring for a child if the child cannot be placed in foster care or to a family that could provide for her or him upbringing or adoption in the country of origin.

Furthermore, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights stated that from the information sources of the aggressor country it became known that the Council of the russian federation proposes to introduce systematic work on teaching russian to young Ukrainians who were deported from Donetsk and Luhansk regions to russia.

Children who speak and understand Ukrainian will be forced to learn the aggressor's language for assimilation and study in russian schools.

The authorities of the occupying country plan to destroy the essence and language of young Ukrainians, erase their memory and all ties with Ukraine.

Such actions violate Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates that a child's education should be aimed at fostering respect for the child's parents, cultural identity, language and national values of the child's country of origin.

Education process in Ukraine 

According to the Ministry of Education and Science, distance learning was organized in all schools in 14 regions of Ukraine.

In 8 regions, there were partially organized distance learning, mixed education and face-to-face training, or vacations.

In three regions, where the situation remains tense, the educational process is suspended.

Where the internet and mobile communication are restored (it was damaged as a result of hostilities and was absent from 5 to 20 days), and there is electricity now (it is much more difficult and longer to restore) there is a possibility to join to education process and trainings, if the security situation allows it.

As of April 7, 2022, distance learning is organized in almost 12,000 institutions of general secondary education, about 3.5 million students have returned to education.

Temporarily internally displaced children can join school at their place of temporary residence.

As of today, the number of temporarily displaced children within the country, who joined the education process is almost 71 thousand. 

Pre-school educational institutions

In 14 regions of Ukraine distance learning is organized in some of the kindergartens, and some of them work in the usual format.

In the rest of the areas the educational process does not take place.

For information: according to the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine about 22,000 Ukrainian teachers went abroad due to russia's military aggression.