To save them from Russia, Ukrainian parents are hiding their kids in basements in frontline cities

Kyiv: Ukrainian parents are resorting to desperate measures to save their children from the ravages of war as well as from Russia. Ukrainian volunteers who have been evacuating civilians from the frontlines of the war with Russia say some parents have been hiding their children in basements to prevent them from being taken away.

The parents though offer different reasons for hiding their children in damp and dark basements. Some of the children have not seen sunlight for months now. A combination of poverty and the psychological condition of the families, who have been living under the threat of Russian shelling for months may have contributed to it too.

In early March, Ukraine’s government gave local authorities in the eastern city of Bakhmut, the site of one of the longest and bloodiest battles of Russia’s invasion—the permission to forcibly evacuate children.

“We knew (the child) was in this place so we went there and she had not been outside since September,” said Sasha, a volunteer medic in Bakhmut, who shared a video of the labyrinth basement the child was living in.

She described that the child’s hands were grey from lack of sunlight. The mother said she feared going outside and had nowhere to go — a valid concern reflected by the volunteers, who said more work needed to be done on building relocation programmes for civilians.

Ukrainians in Bakhmut and adjoining areas have now grown accustomed to the bombing, but they also admit that the intensity of the war has increased dramatically in recent months. The Ukrainian government estimates that 4,000 civilians are still in the city; but it is not clear how many of them are children.

Though volunteers have been working tirelessly in frontline areas, there are still thousands of children in war-torn Ukrainian cities and villages, many of whom have not inhaled fresh air in over six months and spend a dreary existence in damp and dingy basements.

Many survivors who have managed to defy the war are now battling severe mental health problems. They often spend months together with no electricity, water, gas or fresh air, while battles rage above.

In Soledar, a town east of Bakhmut from which Ukrainian forces retreated in January, volunteers persuaded a woman to evacuate with her child. As they were leaving with her, some of those staying in the basement swore at her and burned her belongings.

It does not help matters that the Ukrainians hesitant to leave their home and hearth are often very poor and have negligible trust in the government.

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