Ukrainian children are growing up in a world entirely reshaped by Russia’s war. Sirens, blackouts, and bomb shelters are nothing extraordinary — but a part of everyday childhood.
This photo story follows five families as they raise their children in the shadow of the ongoing invasion. It’s not about the battlefield, but of bedrooms with windows shattered by blasts, morning routines interrupted by air raid alerts, and games played in underground shelters. The war seeps into the smallest moments.
The Kyiv Independent spoke to children and their families to understand how war affects childhood, how it quietly rewrites dreams, creeps into fantasies, and redefines what it means to be safe. Children, in their honesty and imagination, reflect truths that adults sometimes struggle to express.
