Ukraine – Childhood moves to the “underground” in Kherson amidst constant fear and constant attacks

The UN official was speaking to reporters in Geneva from a basement in Kherson, where he said the city was still on the front line “Under constant fire”as daily attacks destroy homes and vital infrastructure, as well as the services that children and families depend on.

He added: “I constantly hear the sound of artillery shelling.”referring to another large-scale, coordinated attack, which reportedly affected civilian and energy infrastructure overnight, adding that the city’s children’s hospital was subjected to eight attacks on Tuesday morning.

Mamadzade said that daily life in Kherson, in light of the scarcity of places that provide a safe haven, has become a matter of survival for children and families in areas located on the front line.

He confirmed that the area “Almost completely covered by anti-drone networks.”And that childhood “Literally moved into the ground”.

Living on high alert

Of the approximately 60,000 children who were living in Kherson before the start of the comprehensive Russian invasion nearly four years ago on February 24, 2022, only about 5,000 children remain, who are forced to “Learning, playing and sleeping in the basements for their safety.”according to the UNICEF representative in Ukraine.

Speaking about the basement converted into a child protection center run by UNICEF, from which he was speaking, Mamadzadeh said: “There are children in the next room playing and interacting with the psychologists, which is a valuable thing to witness in places like Kherson, where one hardly sees people outside.”.

He added: “All humanitarian workers with children talk about the levels of exhaustion that families experience from living around the clock on high alert.”.

Displaced people and returnees are the most affected

In turn, Arthur Erkin, Regional Director of the International Organization for Migration in Europe, said at the bi-weekly press conference of UN agencies in Geneva, that as a result of attacks on civilian energy infrastructure, “Power outages have begun to regulate the daily lives of families, from cooking food to studying for children, and scheduling surgeries in hospitals.”.

He added that “With temperatures dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius, communities face severe shortages of heating, electricity and home repair.”Pointing out that the displaced and recent returnees are the most affected.

He recalled that Ukraine remains the largest displacement crisis in Europe. Of the 9.6 million people who were forced to flee their homes, 3.7 million are internally displaced.

He went on to say: “In a third of displaced families, there is a person with a disability, and in more than half of them, a person suffers from a chronic illness. These are not just statistics, but rather daily realities that affect every decision, from medical care to the provision of food.”.

He renewed the warning that 325,000 Ukrainian returnees may be displaced again in the coming months, and that more than a third of them are considering returning abroad.