Ukrainian children spend another Christmas under the wail of air raid sirens

Dnipro, Ukraine – In the dimly lit school basement, the soft strains of Christmas music fill the air, in contrast with the shrill sound of a long air raid siren. Children sit slumped over their sketches, cheerful posters hanging on the walls. They write down their silent Christmas wishes.

This World Vision-supported child-friendly space, run by Arms of Mercy and funded by Aktion Deutschland Hilft, hosts about 25 Ukrainian children who gather here several times a week for non-formal education and therapy sessions.

These children live in a war that has robbed them of their basic rights. A war that left more than 5.5 million children in Ukraine spending another Christmas in the threat of missile attacks and air alarms.

This Christmas, I wish my grandpa could come home from the war. I miss him so much.

“I want a Ukraine free of air raid sirens, free of bombs, free of war. I just want to be with my family this Christmas,” whispers Katea, 6, from Bakhmut.

Seven-year-old Karina from the same city adds, “I want my godfather to come back from the frontlines. I want to spend Christmas with my entire family, like we used to.”

For Diana, 7, home feels like a blurred memory. “All I want for Christmas is to be home. To me, home means being with my family, my beautiful city of Bakhmut, and my friends I haven’t seen in a long time. I miss all of it.”

“This Christmas, I wish my grandpa could come home from the war. I miss him so much,” shares Artem, 7, from Dnipro.

Oleksandr Taraba, project coordinator at Arms of Mercy and a pastor in Dnipro, sees the toll this war has taken on the younger generation. “The children who come here are deeply affected by the war. Many are displaced from frontline areas, having already lost a father, uncle, or another loved one. At first, they are very withdrawn. Every noise makes them flinch. Gaining their trust is a challenge.”

After weeks of daily therapy and activities, Oleksandr starts to notice a change in children’s behaviors. “They start to open up. They share, they play, they ask questions. Parents notice a significant change. It’s a slow rebuilding of trust, behaviors, and perceptions shaped by their trauma.”

In a survey conducted by Arms of Mercy, 86% of parents said they enrolled their children in these programs because their children were missing social interactions.

According to a recent assessment, 43% of Ukrainian children experience psychosocial distress, including anxiety, dread, and irritability. The war has put nearly 10 million Ukrainians, including 1.4 million children, at risk of mental health conditions. 

I want a Ukraine free of air raid sirens, free of bombs, free of war. I just want to be with my family this Christmas.

This Christmas, what does it feel like to be a child in Ukraine, where the air raid sirens echo relentlessly, as if timed by a clock; where your father is on the frontlines, and you haven’t seen him in more than six months; where you walked out the door of your home two years ago and haven’t returned since because there’s no house left; where you lost friends; where almost every school lesson has been interrupted by the shrill sound of alarms or bombs; where you sit in a freezing basement, shrouded in complete darkness from power cuts; where you ache to see your grandparents, but they are hundreds of kilometers away, beyond reach?

Ukraine’s children deserve peace – not just on Christmas, but every day. 

Listen to the voices of Ukrainian children, as they share their dreams and hopes for this Christmas, amid the ongoing war: Video

Story and photos by Laurentia Jora, Advocacy & Communications Manager