What Is the Current Situation for Ukraine’s Children? 

Six-year-old Olha* lives with her mother Valentyna* and sister Marina* in a town on the frontline of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. When she was just three years old Olha* almost lost her life and her best friend *Boris, a nine-year-old boy, lost four fingers when they picked up a mine in the street thinking it was a whistle. They took the object to *Boris’s house to play with their brothers and sisters, and Boris* decided he was going to open it up, so he hit the object and it immediately detonated in his hand. Boris’s* fingers were severed in the explosion, and Olha* suffered severe injuries to her stomach and hand. Her thumb had been severed and the shrapnel had pierced her abdomen that would later have to be removed during emergency surgery in hospital. Her mother Valentyna* was called by her children and they said something had exploded, and she ran over to their Neighbour’s home. She saw her three-year-old daughter covered in blood, and immediately called an ambulance. Valentyna* said she just cried and held her daughter close to her. Olha* had to travel for four hours to the nearest functioning hospital. Although doctors managed to save her life, she now lives with a colostomy bag as the shrapnel had ruptured her intestines. But the shrapnel in her liver, bladder and other parts of her stomach couldn’t be removed, so Olha* will live with her injuries for the rest of her life. More than fifty shell fragments were left inside. More than two years later, and Valentyna* wants Olha* to forget the events that changed her life. But her daughter still suffers from pain in her stomach and will be unable to forget the incident fully because of the scars she has been left with. Her friend Boris* who lost four of his fingers, still doesn’t talk about the incident. Since the conflict began in 2014, the town has largely been abandoned and unemployment is rife. Valentyna* used to work as a nurse in a mental health hospital. She and her children