Ukraine
Russia’s war in Ukraine has become a protracted humanitarian crisis, leaving millions of children in urgent need of assistance. War Child works with partners to support children in Ukraine affected by this war to access education, mental health support, and child protection services.
The situation for children
Russia's war against Ukraine began in 2014 with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Hundreds of thousands of people, many of them children, were forced to flee their homes, and children living under occupation lost access to education in their native language in their own country.
In February 2022, the war escalated into a full-scale invasion, turning the lives of the country's children upside down overnight.
Years of war have disrupted every aspect of childhood in Ukraine, from education and safety to mental health and wellbeing. Children there still face risks of violence, displacement and deportation, loss of learning and psychological trauma.
Our work in Ukraine
War Child has been working with partners to support children in Ukraine since the onset of the war in 2022. In 2023, our emergency response evolved into an in-country programme with a focus on child protection, education and mental health support.
Evidence-based Methodologies used in Ukraine
Play and movement-based psychosocial support
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Strengthening parent wellbeing and skills
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Closing the learning gap
- Evidence-based
- Education
Mental health needs detection tool
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Supporting adolescent mental health
- Evidence-based
- Mental health and psychosocial support
Youth-led advocacy
- Research-grounded
- Youth advocacy
Latest news from Ukraine
- Education
From aid to infrastructure: why education technology in emergencies must be built with governments
Can’t Wait To Learn, hosted by War Child, contributed a think piece to the new UNICEF and EdTech Hub report, Shaping the Future of Digital Education: A Global Conversation on How to Move Beyond Digital as Usual.
Far from the frontline in Ukraine, but not from the war
War Child’s Head of Programmes in Ukraine, Yaroslava Mozghova, and Anna Sydoruk, CEO of Osvitoria, War Child’s partner, explain how no matter where children live in Ukraine, they cannot escape the uncertainty of war.
- Advocacy
Ukrainian youth to world leaders: We are living this war, now listen to us
Youth in Ukraine release their research findings on mental health and they have demands.
- Education
War Child formalises handover of its Ukraine "Can’t Wait to Learn" learning platform to Ukraine government
- Child protection
- Mental health and psychosocial support
“I Dream of Quiet Nights Without Sirens”: Ukraine’s Children Call for Safety After Four Years of War
“I dream of quiet nights without sirens,” says 12-year-old Elizaveta from Sumy. “I dream that my school will always be a place of learning, not a shelter. And I dream of a future in which children in Ukraine will live without fear and with faith in a happy tomorrow.”
- Education
When Schools Become Targets: Ukrainian Documentary TIMESTAMP Screens at BAFTA
Over 200 guests gathered at the BAFTA cinema for a special London screening of TIMESTAMP, a documentary revealing how Ukrainian children and teachers continue learning under the full-scale Russian invasion. The discussion after the screening featured leading British voices, including Stephanie Baker, senior writer at Bloomberg and moderator of the panel, Christina Lamb, Chief Foreign Correspondent at The Sunday Times, Rob Williams, Chief Executive of War Child Alliance, and Johanna Baxter, MP.
