RUSSIA FIRST INVADED UKRAINE. THE BOMBINGS HAVE DESTROYED COUNTLESS HOMES, SCHOOLS AND HOSPITALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. A UNICEF REPRESENTATIVE, JAMES ELDER, JOINS US LIVE FROM KYIV. THIS MORNING. JAMES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT TO SPEAK WITH US. RHONDELLA JENNIFER. HI THERE. GOOD MORNING. WELL, YOU HAVE MADE SEVERAL TRIPS TO UKRAINE OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS. NOW EXPLAIN THE IMPACT OF THE WAR ON CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES. THERE. WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN? YEAH, UNFORTUNATELY, AS YOU RIGHTLY SAID, THERE, WE KEEP SEEING CHILDREN BEING KILLED. THAT THIS WAR’S MOST, MOST GROTESQUE. I’VE BEEN IN KHARKIV AND THE FRONTLINE AREAS THERE. UH, TWO DAYS AGO, WALKING AROUND WHAT WAS A HOME THAT HAD BEEN A MISSILE HAD HIT NEARBY. THE HOME HAD BEEN BURNT DOWN. THREE YOUNG BOYS BURNT TO DEATH, SEVEN, FOUR AND SEVEN MONTHS. US AT THE SAME TIME, BECAUSE OF THESE ATTACKS, BECAUSE CHILDREN ARE HAVING TO SPEND THIS INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF TIME UNDERGROUND AND THEY’RE PAYING A PRICE AS WELL FOR HAVING TO SEEK SAFETY. SO WE ARE SEEING WHAT WE FEARED AND WHAT WE WARNED ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WHICH IS NOW A REAL MENTAL HEALTH CATASTROPHE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE HERE. SO MANY FAMILIES HAVE LEFT UKRAINE AND AT THE START OF THE WAR, HAVE THEY RETURNED? AND ARE UKRAINIANS STILL COMMITTED TO THE WAR EFFORT? YEAH, PEOPLE ARE COMING AND GOING. MILLIONS ARE STILL AWAY. MILLIONS. THE THE SPLIT OF FAMILIES REMAINS ONE OF THE ONE OF THE SADDEST ELEMENTS TO HEAR ONE OF THE. THERE ARE SO MANY ELEMENTS CRACKING IN SOCIETY HERE. THE LACK OF EDUCATION. TEENAGERS IN FRONTLINE AREAS HAVE REALLY NOT BEEN TO SCHOOL FOR FOUR YEARS. TWO YEARS OF COVID, TWO YEARS OF THIS. FAMILY MEMBERS ON THE FRONT LINE, FATHERS HERE WORKING FAMILIES AWAY. SO HUGE NUMBERS ARE AWAY, COMMITTED. YES, 200%. IT’S EXTRAORDINARY. UH, IN THAT SENSE, THERE THERE IS A THERE IS A SELFLESSNESS. EVERY PERSON I SPEAK TO SPEAKS OF WHAT THEY WANT TO DO FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES AND WHAT THEY WANT TO DO FOR THEIR FAMILIES. THEY ARE AWARE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH WITH GLOBAL AND WESTERN SUPPORT, BUT THEY ARE LITERALLY REBUILD AS THINGS GET DESTROYED. THOSE THREE BOYS I MENTIONED, THERE WAS A HOME NEXT DOOR THAT TWO BROTHERS HAD BUILT OVER 25 YEARS THAT WAS BURNT DOWN. THESE MEN ARE LATE 50S. WHEN I SAW THEM THREE DAYS AFTER THEY WERE REBUILDING. SO THIS IS WHAT UKRAINIANS ARE DOING. THEY ARE VERY MUCH THE FRONTLINE WORKERS, NURSES, PSYCHOLOGISTS, MOTHERS. BUT YEAH, THEY’RE TIRED WITHOUT BEING TIRED, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. IT IS JUST HEARTBREAKING TO HEAR THE STORIES WE KNOW YOU AND YOUR ORGANIZATION ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING HOPE. HOW HAS UNICEF HELPED CHILDREN IN UKRAINE? YEAH, A COUPLE OF BIG WAYS THAT COUNSELING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT IS HUGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. THE AMOUNT OF TRAINING WE DO THERE IN PERSON, CHILDREN ONLINE LEARNING, THAT’S A THAT’S A MASSIVE PART. UH, AS WE KNOW, COMPLETE BREACHES OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW, THINGS LIKE WATER, WATER SYSTEMS, CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE IS STILL DESTROYED. REBUILDING THAT BLANKETS. IT’S BITTERLY COLD OUTSIDE. OR WHEN WE TALK ABOUT WHAT’S HAPPENING TO CHILDREN HERE, CHILDHOOD BEING LOST OR, WELL, CHILDHOOD BEING STOLEN, I’M SORRY. IT’S NOT JUST THE BUNKERS AND THE LACK OF SCHOOL AND THE SOCIALIZATION MISSING. COME SPRING, CHILDREN WON’T REALLY BE STILL BE ABLE TO DO THE THINGS THEY DO. GO TO THE FOREST, GO TO A RIVERSIDE. THIS IS NOW THE MOST MINED COUNTRY ON THE PLANET. UNIQUE JEFF HAS TRAINED 5000 PEOPLE AROUND THE COUNTRY WITH MINE RISK EDUCATION. THESE THINGS ARE LIFE SAVING AND WE WILL KEEP DOING THEM. AS I SAY, UKRAINIANS ARE THE FRONT LINE. YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING BUT SUPPORT THESE PEOPLE. JAMES ELDER WITH UNICEF, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THE STRESS AND ANXIETY YOU CAN ONLY IMAGINE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT UNICEF S WORK IN UKRAINE AND AROUND THE