Kids' Perspectives: Growing Up in Ukraine at War

Written by Kayley Roth

Vadym - 14 - Central Ukraine

While helping to host a VBS last summer, we met Vadym, a 14-year-old from Central Ukraine. Because he has managed an intermediate level of spoken English, I was able to interview him in a short phone call. The following is what life looks life for Vadym since the war.

A picture taken from the VBS where we met Vadym.

Like any other Wednesday, Vadym woke up and began preparing himself for another day of school. As he saw the latest news flash across his TV, he was stopped in his tracks. Having the same effect as the global pandemic, “Russian Peace” had cancelled that day’s plans for school.

Vadym misses attending school in person, but has still managed to spend time with his friends, who like to play basketball together in the town’s stadium.

Despite the hardships Vadym has witnessed his country endure, he has also had a chance to witness something inspiring: his president’s leadership. For Vadym, president Zelensky has achieved hero status. Vadym described Zelensky in this way because of Zelensky’s choice to remain in Ukraine, accepting the challenge of serving and leading his country in these tough times. It will be interesting to see the long-term effects Zelensky’s example will have on this generation’s onlooking youth.

For now however, Vadym and his family pray for the war to end. Though the 18-60 rule (men in that age range cannot leave the country) does not currently affect Vadym, the war would need to end soon so that by the time he is 18, he can pursue his dream to study software engineering in the E.U.

Solomia - 10 - western ukraine

Getting some translation help from my husband Roma, I was able to interview my sister-in-law Solomia, who had just turned 10 around the time of the invasion. Below are some of her thoughts and experiences since the time of the invasion.

Solomia heard the news early that Wednesday morning. Even though it was her mother who told her, she still found it hard to believe. For Solomia and many others, it was hard to imagine that Putin would really do something so outrageous.

Like Vadym, Solomia has since returned to online school. She would rather study in-person with her friends, but has learned to accept this new change. Other changes, however, have been harder to adjust to.

Solomia plays with her dog, Mickie.

For about a month, five refugees from Eastern Ukraine stayed with Solomia’s family in their home. Among those refugees was a young, and extremely rambunctious, five-year-old boy. Solomia wasn’t new to sharing her home with guests, but this time she was in for an extra challenge. With the cold winter weather and online classes keeping her inside and always around the boy, her house felt increasingly small.

In addition to changes in space, she has also had to adjust to the changes within her family. Her oldest brother left for Germany with his wife on the first day of the war. Though Solomia knew he would be leaving eventually to live in the U.S., his departure came about a year sooner than she would have expected. Solomia’s second-oldest brother serves in the army. He is still with the family for now, but Solomia knows that his proximity is not a guarantee.

The world around Solomia has changed too. In the past few months, her town has seen over a 35% increase in population - that’s a town made for less than 100,000 now housing over 135,000! With the heavy traffic, increased noise and crowded streets, Solomia feels like she’s in China.

Another change for Solomia has been learning to ride a bike. Most children learn to ride a bike out of pure desire. But for Solomia, this new skill has been encouraged as a result of new limits on fuel, forcing many Ukrainians to consider new alternatives of transportation.

Despite living in a world of increased uncertainty and change, Solomia is still able to enjoy most of her favorite activities. In her free time, she likes to attend dance classes, spend time with friends and play with her dog. It may not be the childhood she would have expected, but she continues to adjust and enjoy life as she can.