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Ukraine's kids forced to study online — or underground — as Russia refuses to stop attacking civilians: ‘Like never-ending COVID with bombs'
Ukraine's kids forced to study online — or underground — as Russia refuses to stop attacking civilians: ‘Like never-ending COVID with bombs'

New York Post

time5 days ago

  • Politics
  • New York Post

Ukraine's kids forced to study online — or underground — as Russia refuses to stop attacking civilians: ‘Like never-ending COVID with bombs'

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Thousands of children across Ukraine have been stuck behind computer screens for more than five years as Russia's constant bombings have left them unsafe to leave COVID-era online schools the rest of the world discarded years ago. Moscow routinely targets civilian infrastructure all over Ukraine, making even the most basic activities an intolerable risk. Fourth-grader Kyrylo has only attended classes in person for three months out of his entire life. The little boy started kindergarten in 2020, as the pandemic forced students across the world into virtual homeschooling. Advertisement 6 Children gather in an underground school in Pisochyn, Ukraine. NY Post/Caitlin Doornbos 6 A little girl playing dress-up in the school. NY Post/Caitlin Doornbos When schools reopened in the fall of 2021, Kyrylo was delighted to meet friends in first grade and learn critical social skills — but Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine the following February, forcing kids back online. Advertisement 'It's very scary, because I have to think about my son's life. He's only 10 years old and I cannot just let him go and hang out outside on his own,' his mother, Vlada, a part-time tram driver, told The Post. (The parents who agreed to be interviewed asked to be identified by first names only to protect their children from Russian targeting.) 'We struggle with school classes because they are conducted online and teachers are not able to reach all of them. I have to re-teach him what he's learned.' Kyrylo has one real friend — the son of his next-door neighbor. It's hard to meet other children his age when he has to stay home all day before joining his mother on her nightly route so they can be assured of making it to a shelter if and when air raid alarms go off. 'It's like never-ending COVID times,' Vlada said. 'But this time, with bombs.' Advertisement 6 Students take part in a 'catch-up session' ahead of the start of the school year in Pisochyn, Ukraine. NY Post/Caitlin Doornbos 6 The school is in such demand that students have to attend in four-hour shifts. NY Post/Caitlin Doornbos As in the US, most schools in Ukraine are not equipped with bomb shelters. That means parents often have to make steep sacrifices to ensure their kids get the educations they need, as safely as possible. Some try to scrape together enough funds to send their children to expensive private schools, which do have shelters. Advertisement 'I have to work long hours to give him a proper education now,' said Kharkiv resident Slava, a pharmacist, of her 10-year-old son. 'The first year [of the war], he was alone online and it was difficult, so now I decided I want to give him something — a real, normal education.' 6 A bedroom at the underground school. NY Post/Caitlin Doornbos Slava's son had become 'depressed' studying home alone, she said — but he's thriving after being back in the classroom. 'He likes to be with kids, not to learn online because it's difficult,' Slava explained. 'Small kids can't understand teachers on a screen, so you need communication with other kids. 'As I understand, it's not the aim of school to study only, but to communicate and have friends.' Other parents, such as Tatiana, sacrifice time with their children to ensure their kids are safe from Moscow's brutal attacks. Advertisement Tatiana's 7-year-old son Alexei struggled studying online for the first two years of the war. Fearing her child would be left behind, Tatiana made the heart-wrenching decision to move him into her mother's house hours away in Poltava, a smaller town further from the Russian border whose public school has a shelter. 'We are trying our best to make life good for our child,' Tatiana said. 'I can travel to Poltava and see them and come back — we're trying to make it work. 'In Poltava, all schools are working offline, but the children go down to the shelter every time [there's an air-raid alarm]. It's very strict.' 6 The classrooms are located three stories below ground level. NY Post/Caitlin Doornbos Advertisement A very lucky few, however, are able to attend schools built underground thanks to generous donors from across the world. The Post toured one such facility in Pisochyn, a small suburb of Kharkiv, that will welcome students for its first full school year later this month. The school — whose name The Post is not using for fear of Russian targeting — is decorated in bright, happy colors to bring some light to the windowless facility three stories below ground. In total, 250 students can fill eight classrooms — but they must come in two four-hour shifts each day due to the lack of space and overwhelming demand, according to Pisochyn mayor Oleg Chernobai. Advertisement On the day The Post toured the school, it was hosting a summer program for students who had only previously studied online to 'catch them up' to where they need to be. With the school just 15 miles from the Russian border, Chernobai said it takes just '45 seconds for a Russian rocket to reach Kharkiv,' meaning holding class underground is the safest option available — and outdoor recess is out of the question. 'Even if there is no alarm, they are already underground,' the mayor said. 'This way, they do not have to go outside when a missile is incoming. They can continue their studies.' Advertisement One student, a 6th grader named Anastasiia, said she felt 'safer at school than I do at home.' Another girl, named Yevheniia, said the best thing is being around the friends she missed dearly when she was stuck online learning. 'I do like coming here, coming in-person because we have our friends and teachers, we do tests and handcrafts,' she said. 'It's much better than staying at home.' 'If we have to be in war, we should at least have friends.'

Two young adults brought back from Ukraine's occupied territory, including 18-year-old who spent most of her childhood under occupation
Two young adults brought back from Ukraine's occupied territory, including 18-year-old who spent most of her childhood under occupation

Yahoo

time02-06-2025

  • General
  • Yahoo

Two young adults brought back from Ukraine's occupied territory, including 18-year-old who spent most of her childhood under occupation

Ukraine has managed to bring back an 18-year-old woman who spent most of her childhood under occupation and a 21-year-old man whose village was captured by the Russians in 2022. Source: Bring Kids Back UA initiative Details: Karyna (name changed), 18, spent almost her entire childhood under Russian occupation. She always knew that she wanted to live in Ukraine, so she waited until she came of age to finally leave. Now Karyna is starting a new life in Ukraine: she wants to go to university and find a job. The village where 21-year-old Kyrylo (name changed) lived was occupied at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when he had just turned 18. The village was left without communications, checkpoints began to appear, and people began to disappear. Kyrylo's mother left for Crimea, and the young man was left alone. It was dangerous for him to leave because of the numerous Russian checkpoints. The young man received help in finding a safe route, gathering documents and preparing for departure. Kyrylo is now in Ukraine-controlled territory with his family. Background: On 28 May, 11 children were brought back from Russian-occupied territory to Ukrainian-controlled territory. Among them were two orphans and relatives of military personnel. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!

'I didn't have time to think. I just acted' – how brave teen rescued people in Sumy attack
'I didn't have time to think. I just acted' – how brave teen rescued people in Sumy attack

Yahoo

time21-04-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

'I didn't have time to think. I just acted' – how brave teen rescued people in Sumy attack

On a quiet morning on April 13, Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year-old son Kyrylo were taking a bus through the city of Sumy to see his grandmother, as they often do on Sundays. It was a route they knew by heart — one they'd taken countless times. But that morning, out of nowhere, a sudden blast knocked them off their feet, plunging everything into darkness. On April 13, as Ukraine marked Palm Sunday, Russia launched its deadliest attack on the northeastern city, hitting Sumy downtown with two ballistic missiles. The attack killed 35 people and injured nearly 120, including Kyrylo and his mother, who were trapped in the epicenter. "I immediately fell to the ground and felt shards of glass and metal raining down on me," Kyrylo told the Kyiv Independent. "I waited until it stopped, then got up and tried to open the bus doors." The blast was so powerful that it shattered the bus's windows and cracked its doors, making it impossible to open them from the inside. In shock and with her face covered in blood, Maryna shouted to the driver, urging him to open the door as the smell of burning spread through the crowded bus. No response followed. She soon realized that the driver was probably dead. "I was terrified the bus was on fire. As soon as I smelled it, I knew we had to get out quickly," she told the Kyiv Independent. Although he was injured himself, Kyrylo decided to take action. "I threw my sports bag out the window and jumped onto it to avoid landing in debris on the ground," he recalls. "I began trying to open the doors from the other side, and after several attempts, I managed to do it." Thanks to him, those trapped in the damaged bus managed to escape safely. "Outside, I saw bodies lying on the ground. There were many people. But I did not have time to think at that moment. I just acted," he said. For his bravery, Kyrylo was awarded the Honorary Distinction of the Sumy City Council "For Merits to the City," as well as a two-week trip to a children's camp in Bulgaria, Acting Sumy Mayor Artem Kobzar reported on April 17. "Thank you, that was the act of a real man," Kobzar told Kyrylo in a video that he published on his Telegram. The brutal strike came amid the U.S.'s ongoing effort to end Russia's war in Ukraine, although it has applied no apparent pressure on Moscow to cease its aggression. Russia's attack on Sumy followed another deadly strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on April 4, where 21 people were killed, including nine children. Read also: Critical week for Ukraine begins as Trump hopes to 'end war' The April 13 attack on their hometown was not the only shocking and traumatizing event that the Russian full-scale invasion caused the Illiashenko family. Early in the invasion, when parts of Sumy Oblast were under Russian occupation, a Russian air strike hit near the family's house, recalls Maryna, deeply frightening Kyrylo and his younger brother Matvii, now nine. The family decided to flee Sumy for nearly two months to Ukraine's safer region in the west, as the children could not get over the attack. "When they went to bed, the children stayed fully dressed so they could run and hide at any moment," Maryna recalls. But during their time away from home, the family dreamed of returning to their "lovely little hometown," she says, adding that they were relieved to come back in the spring of 2022, after Russian forces were pushed out of the region. Though Russian forces fired artillery at Sumy Oblast's border areas on a near-daily basis for the next two years, it was mostly quiet in the city of Sumy. Attacks on the northeastern region and Sumy city have intensified since August of 2024, following Ukraine's surprise cross-border incursion into Russia's adjacent Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian troops held a nearby town of Sudzha for seven months before they were forced to withdraw in March. Fighting continues in the border areas. Still, Maryna says they couldn't have imagined coming under such a deadly strike. That morning, while her husband and younger son stayed home, Maryna and Kyrylo were waiting at the bus stop when the first explosion hit. "My husband called immediately, asking us to come back home. But we still decided to visit grandmother," Maryna recalls, adding that they entered the bus shortly after the first explosion. The second missile, fired minutes after the first one in what is known as a 'double-tap' strike – a tactic frequently employed by Russia – was armed with cluster munitions. Such munitions are used to inflict greater devastation on civilians in the affected area. "When shards of glass flew into my face, I realized that the missile had exploded very close," Maryna says. "I had glass in my eyes and couldn't see anything as I had been standing right by the window." "I was screaming my son's name, trying to understand if he was okay." As soon as she managed to wipe some blood and glass from her face, Maryna saw her son jumping out of the bus window. According to her, there were up to 40 people on the bus at the time of the attack. She believes that those sitting in the front rows, including the driver, were killed instantly. The rest of those surviving the strike managed to quickly escape the bus thanks to her son. "I only saw my mom when I opened the door," says Kyrylo. "I saw people leaving the bus, and then I saw my mom's face — it was completely covered in blood," he says, adding that it was the moment when he got really scared. It later turned out that Maryna's injuries were less severe than her son's — Kyrylo had several pieces of metal shrapnel lodged in his skull and is now undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sumy. Kyrylo says he is very upset about missing the freestyle wrestling competition he had been preparing for over months due to his injuries. Yet, according to Kyrylo, the sport helped him stay focused and composed during the attack. "It was thanks to sports because every competition puts you under stress. And with each one, you get more and more used to handling yourself." He now receives numerous calls from locals thanking him for his courageous actions. "My classmates have been messaging me. One of them had a grandmother on that bus, and another had an aunt," Kyrylo says. "They thanked me a lot because their relatives were able to get out through the exit I opened." Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russia's brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russia's war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's member, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.

"Heroes among us": Ukrainian teen receives award for rescuing bus passengers after Russian missile strike on Sumy
"Heroes among us": Ukrainian teen receives award for rescuing bus passengers after Russian missile strike on Sumy

Yahoo

time17-04-2025

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

"Heroes among us": Ukrainian teen receives award for rescuing bus passengers after Russian missile strike on Sumy

Sumy City Council has honoured 13-year-old Kyrylo Illiashenko, who rescued people from a burning bus following the recent Russian missile strike on the city. Source: Sumy Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar Details: Kyrylo received the Sumy City Council's third-class award For Services to the City. He was also given a voucher for a two-week holiday at a children's camp in Bulgaria. "Heroes among us!" Kobzar wrote. Background: On 13 April, Russian forces launched ballistic missiles on the centre of Sumy. The attack killed at least 35 people, including 2 children. Over 119 civilians were injured. At the time of the missile strike, Kyrylo and his mother were on a bus on their way to training. The explosion caused a fire onboard and the doors became jammed. But Kyrylo kept calm as he climbed out through a window and began helping other passengers escape the burning bus. The boy was injured in the attack: three pieces of shrapnel struck his head. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!

Survivors and doctors recount horror of deadly Russian missile attack in Sumy
Survivors and doctors recount horror of deadly Russian missile attack in Sumy

Euronews

time16-04-2025

  • Health
  • Euronews

Survivors and doctors recount horror of deadly Russian missile attack in Sumy

ADVERTISEMENT Survivors of a deadly Russian missile attack and the doctors treating them have spoken of their horror at what unfolded in the northeast Ukrainian city of Sumy last week. Back-to-back missile strikes on Sunday morning killed 35 people and injured more than 100 others, making it the most fatal Russian attack on civilians in Ukraine so far this year. "I can't understand these people, the people who send these missiles," said Oleksandr Zaitsev, acting head of the local hospital's intensive care unit. "In the 21st century, there are people who like to kill other people. I'm just shocked." The attack on Sumy, a city around 30km from the Russian border, has drawn criticism from around the world, with the incoming German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling it 'a serious war crime". Standing in front of the collapsed facade of a university building where the second missile struck, Oleh Strilka, a spokesperson for the city's State Emergency Service, said: 'I don't want to think about this as a new type of reality for Sumy city. We can clearly see that our frontline cities are being erased." 'The most painful thing for me is our children. Why do they need to suffer?' he asked. 'I don't want our 13-year-old kids becoming heroes.' Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year-old son, Kyrylo, were both injured in the missile strike as they travelled by bus to visit the teenager's grandmother. The second missile crashed down close to the vehicle, killing the driver and injuring them. Shrapnel tore through Kyrylo's scalp and scratched Maryna's face. The pair tried to open the bus door from the inside but it was jammed. "Then, while I was thinking about what to do next, I looked up and my child had already jumped through the doorframe and was opening the door from the outside," Maryna said. "He opened it, and there were people lying in front of me. He helped them up first and then let me out. He was very scared because my face was covered in blood,' she continued. Hennadii Smolarov, another Ukrainian injured in the attack, was also travelling by bus when the attack happened. "I was standing by the window and was hit by a blow," he said. "And now my arm doesn't work and my skull is broken." Related 'Putin is mocking Trump': EU foreign ministers call for new sanctions on Russia after Sumy attack The attack in Sumy, which had a prewar population of about 250,000, came just over a week after a Russian missile strike killed about 20 people, including nine children, in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. ADVERTISEMENT In the aftermath of the attack, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a global response. 'Only real pressure on Russia can stop this. We need tangible sanctions against those sectors that finance the Russian killing machine,' he said.

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