As Ukraine heads into its second year of war, the relentless bombing and shelling has left close to half its population, around 17.7 million people, in urgent need of food, clean water, shelter and medical care.
How Our Supporters Have Helped
$1.1 million dollars went to Save the Children's global response in eastern Europe thanks to generous kiwis. Read more about this response here.
What's Happening In Ukraine Now?
- 83% of the 17.7 million people inside Ukraine have needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, ranging from severe to catastrophic.
- The most severe needs are among people living in areas of active hostilities, largely in the east of the country.
- Half the population are living without electricity, affecting access to clean water and heating.
- Half of Ukraine’s children no longer access regular education.
- Save the Children has dramatically scaled up operations, reaching over 800,000 people, including 436,500 children in the past year.
- With your help we can continue to meet immediate needs by providing cash and voucher assistance, food, clean water, hygiene kits, and give children a safe place to play through our Child Friendly Spaces.
Dmytro,15,stands in the garden of his former home which burned down near Chernihiv, Ukraine.
Donate To Help Ukraine’s Children Survive
Millions of children are suffering from the trauma and fear of war due to the barrage of air strikes and bombings. Children are forced to quickly move to underground shelters almost on a daily basis.
Official data just released shows that on average children have had to spend 920 hours in underground shelters over the past year. That’s just over 38 days, or more than a month. Over the same period, there have also been 16,207 sirens, each lasting, on average, an hour.
Right across Ukraine, parents and teachers are trying to protect children from the brutal realities of the war.
To make children evacuate promptly, teachers create playful drills. During alarms, they turn on loud music to drown out the sirens and dress up as fantasy creatures to reduce stress on children. Now, pupils treat evacuation as an 'adventure to the cave'.
Meet Oleh* Who Now Looks Forward To Playing In His Kindergarten Bunker
In his kindergarten, they use the basement as a shelter. The underground premises are now equipped for drawing, playing, and dancing. Also, every pupil has a stall with an emergency backpack full of water, snacks, warm clothes, and favourite toys, which our supporters have helped to provide.
Teachers and parents across Ukraine are working hard to protect their children, where they can, from the horrible realities of war.
Mariia* is seven years old. She lives in Ukraine with her 39-year-old mother as well as her older brothers - 14-year-old Vsevolod* and 15-year-old Andrii*.
Mariia's Story
One short year ago 7-year-old Mariia* was thriving at school and enjoyed maths and reading.
But as the conflict escalated in February last year, instead of learning in a warm classroom, she and her mother and her brothers (names) and other villagers huddled in the cold, dark basement of their local school and then in the basement at their home.
“During the shelling, it was not good at all. Yes. It was bad. I was scared when there was heavy shelling. “It was not good [in the basement] – cold, cold..”, says Mariia.
Mariia, and her family fled their village to another part of Ukraine. Now they are back home but have had to move in with a neighbour as their home and all their possessions were burnt to the ground.
Mariia hasn’t been back to school since the war broke out and her mother Viktoria has struggled to find clothes for her three children to cope with the freezing winter.
Donate to help us support children who need it most.
Ihor*, 6, painting at a child friendly space in Ukraine.
6-Year-Old Ihor Has Somewhere To Play Now
Thanks to our supporters Ihor*, 6, an internally displaced child from Ukraine, now has somewhere safe to play. He currently attends a Child Friendly Space in Zaporizhzhia, Eastern Ukraine, three to four times a week with his ten-year-old sister Katia*. It gives him and other children a fun place to relax and make new friends. His mother Polina* also attends classes so she can learn ways to help her children deal with stressful situations and challenges.
“We left all our friends at home, it's stressful for the children, they have no one to go out with. There we lived in an apartment; we had a friend across the yard. I had to leave that
apartment. All the kindergartens stopped working, the schools, they stopped working. Even zoom stopped.
It’s very difficult for children. Now Ihor he draws, he sculpts, he makes something. He likes it a lot.” Polina, Ihor’s mother
War takes a massive toll on children. But with your support we can help them survive.
Your donation will also help us advocate for change.
Save The Children Is Calling For...
- All civilians and civilian objects, especially those impacting children, such as homes, schools, and hospitals, to be protected from attack.
- All parties to refrain from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and take stock of the impact on civilian populations in the planning and conduct of military activities.
- Ensure full, unhindered humanitarian access to families caught up in the crisis.