War traumatising Ukrainian children
Memories of sitting in a shelter as the bombs fall can scar a child for life
11.05.2025
Article published on the meduza.io website
A Ukrainian psychologist Elina Bytyuk has been speaking to Meduza about how Russia’s war is affecting the lives of children in her country.
On 4 April this year Russian armed forces launched a missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, killing 20 people, including nine children between three and seventeen years of age. The UN said that the strike was the deadliest in the entire Russo-Ukrainian war in terms of the number of young children involved.
In total, nearly 700 children have died since the start of the conflict and a further 1,800 have been wounded. However, the actual toll is likely to be far higher when one considers the damage being done to children’s mental health and wellbeing. And it’s not just the brutal violence that the children have witnessed as such experiences can also result in illnesses and mental disorders, including addictions.
How the current situation is affecting Ukrainian children
A UNICEF spokesman James Elder said that children in frontline zones spent 3,000 to 5,000 hours in basements and shelters during the first two years of the war alone, i.e. the equivalent of four to seven months. Being in constant fear for their lives has led to children developing complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is often more difficult to treat than the normal condition, which is triggered by a single rather than a series of events.
More than 13,000 children have been deprived of parental care as a result of the war (because their parents are in Russian captivity, or living in the occupied territories) including nearly 1,800 who have been left orphaned. Grief that comes with family separation makes coping with traumatic events even more difficult.
The war has also disrupted children’s education. The destruction of schools means that 700,000 children are now having to study online instead. Constant air raids and blackouts also interrupt normal schooling and daily life.
Previous social ties are also being severed. Nearly seven million people have left Ukraine (mostly women and children), with nearly four million internally displaced. The loss of their home and familiar surroundings is also traumatic for children and has an impact on their mental health. And to make matters worse, their new homes are often much inferior to their previous ones.
In a recent Save the Children survey, 73% of children said they felt unsafe and fearful, while 64% had lost all interest in learning.
According to UNICEF, 1.7 million children don’t have access to clean water.
Today there are local and international non-profit organisations providing psychological help to children in Ukraine which involves one-to-one and group therapy led by professional psychotherapists. However, after the Russian invasion, access to trauma-focused treatments by trained mental health staff was limited in the country. As a result, German specialists stepped in to organise appropriate training for Ukrainian therapists which continues today.
Psychologists can help children cope with memories of horrific events and on-going threats and teach them how to handle stress in the least damaging way. Parental support is also crucial in helping children to cope. However, many parents are struggling with their own mental health issues and need help themselves.
Elina Bytyuk is a psychologist working for the non-profit Children New Generation Foundation and provides counselling to children and parents who receive help in shelters for internally displaced persons. Meduza has been speaking to her in order to understand the war’s impact on Ukrainian children and what their lives are like now.
The interview
What is the definition of trauma that children living through the war are experiencing?
Trauma manifests itself differently in every child. While some traumatised children may appear fearful or depressed, others will become withdrawn or even aggressive. But what is aggression? It reflects a basic underlying fear. Some children are unable to speak, while others may start having temper tantrums, panic attacks or outbursts of anger.
Everyone reacts differently but it is good if a person has an inner resilience and a supportive environment to enable them to cope. Homeless and younger children tend to adapt well to life in the shelters because it offers them the opportunity of interacting with others and focus on play.
And then there are children who wake up at night, having previously witnessed some traumatic event which is imprinted in their mind. They are haunted by what they have seen, like war veterans, and whose intrusive memory is impossible to suppress by willpower alone.
For a child, the main defence, the basic foundation, is the family and the source of their support. A child lives life through their emotions. If dad has gone to the front and mum is suffering from a stress-related illness, a child may develop feelings of internal isolation and start to see the world as alien and hostile. Then the child will ask – How can I live in such a world and do I have to be just as aggressive in order to protect myself?
If, for example, a family loses its home, then adolescent children may lose their own identity, which may lead to depression and feelings of helplessness.
Psychologists recommend living in the here and now but we still need to have some aspirations in life. When we have a sense of purpose even our insides start working differently. Having a goal stimulates our inner reserves of character. What does a child do when he or she has been displaced, lost their daddy or someone else who is dear to them? They ask themselves: Where am I going?, What do I want? and How am I going to live my life? Their loss and distress can develop into a general anxiety disorder and lead to depression.
For example, we are currently working with a teenager from Bakhmut who is finding it difficult to express his feelings, lacks self-confidence and is withdrawn – basically a lost soul. A 15 year-old girl from Severodonetsk constantly tells us how much she misses her friends, her home and the toys she had in her room. Another girl from Bakhmut has become withdrawn and doesn’t want not to leave her flat – she is terrified of everything. You have to bring the person out of such a traumatic state and explain to them that the past has gone and to concentrate on living in the present.
You spoke about the risk of a person losing their self-identity. Can you explain what you mean and how this can affect teenagers?
There is a loss of the connection with their own personality, which leads to alienation, withdrawal from society and into themselves. They have no sense of their own boundaries or self, the consequences of which can be very different, starting with low esteem.
In what way is low self-esteem a problem?
It manifests itself in a person who has no ambitions in life, has no desire to go anywhere or want anything.
We generally come into this life to evolve as people and to make the world a better place. Normally, we have the motivation. But in this case, a person becomes apathetic and indifferent to those around them. They are frustrated. This can lead to depression, lying and staying in bed for weeks. They go and sit in a corner and not see or hear anything – this is alienation from everything that’s happening around them. Nothing gives them any pleasure. However, specialists are on hand to provide medication and psychotherapy for a person who is unable to cope on their own.
In order to maintain their self-identity, children should understand that they are developing as human beings and still learning in the world. They must not lose the joy within themselves and have trust in the world. But what if that trust has already been lost?
What are the traumatic events that have affected children the most?
The loss of contact with their mother or father and other loved-ones. For children this is perhaps even harder to bear than the loss of their home. A child will adapt normally if they are part of a loving and supportive family. But if not… A lot will depend on the parents and how well they deal with their own fears and anxieties.
Life is hard, with so many homes and flats having been destroyed. It is also very difficult for parents too who wonder what else they can offer their children other than love and support.
What can help children cope with the consequences of war?
Interpersonal relations, socialisation and communication with other children and teachers are key, while older children can benefit from participating in sports (physical activity is good for the brain as well as for mental health) and other hobbies that help them develop, learn and express themselves.
So, it’s all down to physical exercise, sport and socialising. And, of course, I work with parents, not only helping them to deal with their own worries but also stressing the need for them to talk to their children about their feelings and concerns so that they don’t become depressed or withdrawn.
They need to focus on the positive things and try to see the good. I realise this is difficult in wartime but we just need to calmly accept things as they are and get through it. God willing, we will all come through this.
