Growing Up in a War Zone

What’s a typical morning like for you? Maybe you wake up in a warm bed and pop a bagel into the toaster for breakfast. Then you grab your fully charged phone and head to school to catch up with your friends before the first bell.

This may sound like just another ordinary day in your life. But in Ukraine, where war has raged for two years, many teens can only dream of this kind of normalcy. That’s because nearly every aspect of their lives was turned upside down on February 24, 2022. 

Early that morning, Russia launched a full-scale assault on Ukraine. Missiles rained down on Ukrainian military bases and cities, and Russian troops and tanks poured into the Eastern European nation from the north and east. The Ukrainian military was immediately deployed. The two sides have been fighting within Ukraine ever since (see "Why Did Russia Invade Ukraine?", below).

What is a typical morning like for you? Maybe you wake up in a warm bed. You pop a bagel into the toaster for breakfast. Then you grab your fully charged phone. You head to school to catch up with your friends before the first bell.

This may sound like just another ordinary day in your life. But in Ukraine, many teens can only dream of this kind of normalcy. War has raged there for two years. Nearly every part of their lives was turned upside down on February 24, 2022.

Early that morning, Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine. Missiles rained down on Ukrainian military bases and cities. And Russian troops and tanks poured into the Eastern European nation from the north and east. The Ukrainian military was immediately deployed. The two sides have been fighting within Ukraine ever since (see "Why Did Russia Invade Ukraine?," below).

Artem Korsun, 18, is a college student at a university in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. But Kyiv is frequently targeted by air strikes, so Artem now takes his classes online from his hometown of Korostyshiv, which is somewhat safer.

Still, the stress of the war has taken its toll on Artem. And the fact that he can’t be around his peers at school has made it worse, eliminating the moments of connection that once brightened his days.

“Even [if the] missiles don’t kill me, they still strike the inner part of me that wants to live, not just exist,” he says.

Artem is not alone. Studies show that the loss and disruption caused by war make people more prone to mental health problems—particularly children and teens, who thrive on routine. An estimated 1.5 million young people in Ukraine are at risk of depression and other mental health issues because of the war, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

What’s more, experts say that people who live in war zones are often under constant stress. They may have witnessed loved ones being injured or killed, or they may have lost their homes.

Artem recognized that many of his peers in Ukraine likely felt like he did—or worse—so he decided to take action. In October 2022, he helped establish a youth center in Korostyshiv. The space provides a place for teens to connect.

Artem helped set up the youth center through a Unicef initiative called Upshift. The program provides teens with skills and funding to help solve problems in their communities. 

About 200 teens now use the center to study and play games. They also do art therapy, which experts say can help people process difficult emotions. 

But most important to Artem, many teens are making new friends there—including him.

“We still need to socialize,” he says. “Having someone you can talk to is crucial during such challenging times. You realize that you’re not alone.”

Artem Korsun is 18. He is a college student at a university in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. But Kyiv is often targeted by air strikes. So Artem now takes his classes online from his hometown of Korostyshiv. It is somewhat safer.

Still, the stress of the war has been hard on Artem. And the fact that he cannot be around his peers at school has made it worse. Not going to classes has taken away the moments of connection that once brightened his days.

“Even [if the] missiles don’t kill me, they still strike the inner part of me that wants to live, not just exist,” he says.

Artem is not alone. Studies show that the loss and disruption caused by war make people more likely to have mental health problems. That is particularly true for children and teens, who thrive on routine. An estimated 1.5 million young people in Ukraine are at risk of depression and other mental health issues because of the war. That is according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef).

Experts also say that people who live in war zones are often under constant stress. They may have witnessed loved ones being hurt or killed. Or they may have lost their homes.

Artem recognized that many of his peers in Ukraine probably felt like he did—or worse. So he decided to take action. In October 2022, he helped start a youth center in Korostyshiv. The space provides a place for teens to connect.

Artem helped set up the youth center through a Unicef initiative called Upshift. The program provides teens with skills and funding to help solve problems in their communities.

About 200 teens now use the center to study and play games. They also do art therapy, which experts say can help people work through difficult emotions.

But most important to Artem is that many teens are making new friends there—including him.

“We still need to socialize,” he says. “Having someone you can talk to is crucial during such challenging times. You realize that you’re not alone.”

Every so often during the school day, the walls of Alina Barsuk’s classroom vibrate, and the voice of her algebra teacher is temporarily drowned out. An underground train is rumbling past, just feet away from the class. But Alina doesn’t mind. 

The eighth-grader is one of about 1,000 students in Kharkiv, Ukraine, who attend school belowground —in a subway station. Education officials created the voluntary program at the start of this school year as a way to get students back into classrooms while still protecting them from the near-constant threat of Russian air strikes.

Kharkiv, with about 1.4 million people, is less than 25 miles from the Russian border. A missile from Russia can reach the city in less than a minute—not enough time for students in aboveground classrooms to race to bomb shelters. For this reason, all in-person learning in Kharkiv was effectively canceled when the war began.

Across Ukraine, education systems are facing similar challenges. According to the U.N., more than 1,300 of the country’s 17,000 schools have been destroyed. Thousands of others have been damaged. Unicef estimates that more than 5 million students in Ukraine have fallen behind academically, in part because many of them no longer have access to in-person learning. 

To address the crisis in Kharkiv, officials there built dozens of classrooms in five subway stations. The learning spaces are set up near where trains arrive and depart. Students in grades 1 through 11 attend the classes in person two or three days a week. The rest of the time, they continue their learning from home. 

Many experts say in-person learning is critical during a war. A classroom setting allows students to better grasp the material, and it gives young people an opportunity to be with their peers. It also provides a sense of routine amid great uncertainty. Yet only about one-third of Ukrainian kids and teens are able to attend school in person full-time.

Alina, 14, is happy to be inside a classroom. “I wanted to go back to school for a long time,” she told reporters. “There are [other teens] to talk to, and you see the teacher in person.”

Yegor Rastorgui, an 11th-grader, agrees. “After two years of online classes, it’s really nice to come here and see people’s eyes.”

Every so often during the school day, the walls of Alina Barsuk’s classroom vibrate. And the voice of her algebra teacher is temporarily drowned out. An underground train is rumbling past. It is just feet away from the class. But eighth-grader Alina does not mind.

Alina is one of about 1,000 students who attend school below the ground in a subway station in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Education officials created the voluntary program at the start of this school year. It is a way to get students back into classrooms while still protecting them from the near-constant threat of Russian air strikes.

Kharkiv has about 1.4 million people. The city is less than 25 miles from the Russian border. A missile from Russia can reach the city in less than a minute. That is not enough time for students in classrooms above the ground to race to bomb shelters. For this reason, all in-person learning in Kharkiv was effectively canceled when the war began.

Across Ukraine, education systems are facing similar challenges. More than 1,300 of the country’s 17,000 schools have been destroyed. That is according to the U.N. Thousands of others have been damaged. Unicef estimates that more than 5 million students in Ukraine have fallen behind academically. The reason, in part, is that many students no longer have access to in-person learning.

To deal with the crisis in Kharkiv, officials there built dozens of classrooms in five subway stations. The learning spaces are set up near where trains arrive and depart. Students in grades 1 through 11 attend the classes in person two or three days a week. The rest of the time, they continue their learning from home.

Many experts say in-person learning is critical during a war. A classroom setting allows students to better grasp the material. And it gives young people a chance to be with their peers. It also provides a sense of routine during a time of great uncertainty. Yet only about one-third of Ukrainian kids and teens can attend school in person full-time.

Alina, 14, is happy to be inside a classroom. “I wanted to go back to school for a long time,” she told reporters. “There are [other teens] to talk to, and you see the teacher in person.”

Yegor Rastorgui, an 11th-grader, agrees. “After two years of online classes, it’s really nice to come here and see people’s eyes.”