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Trained to sniff out the vapours from explosive devices, the six-year-old German Spitz participates in sessions run by Save the Children’s partner organisation, Ukrainian Deminers Association, in Kharkiv, a frontline area hard hit during four years of full-scale war.

The last quarter of 2025 saw an uptick in the duration of alarms, coinciding with an intensification of the conflict in recent months, further compounding psychological pressure on children and families already living under prolonged strain.

Families in Ukraine are turning to increasingly desperate measures to survive power blackouts as attacks on energy facilities have left them without heating and water in one of Ukraine’s coldest weeks this winter. 

Freezing temperatures of up to –20 degrees Celsius (-4F) have forced the closure of many schools across Ukraine so far this year, after a near doubling of attacks on energy infrastructure causes widespread power outages with a state of emergency declared today, Save the Children said. 

From safe schools to ending child marriage to cleaning up the oceans, children across the globe used their voices for their rights  

Record numbers of attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine in the past two months have forced school closures and also disrupted the remote learning that children have relied upon for nearly four years of war, said Save the Children

The equivalent of about 150 classrooms of children have been killed or injured in Ukraine since the start of full-scale war

Children in frontline areas of Ukraine have lost 25% more days of learning due to the war than the world’s longest COVID-19 school closures, as a lack of bomb shelters means it is still too dangerous to for children to attend class, Save the Children said today.  

Over a dozen schools and kindergartens have reportedly been damaged in a deadly attack on Dnipro this morning, with at least two children injured when a train was shelled. The attack came just over 24 hours after a round of drone and missile strikes in Kyiv killed nine people including an 11 year old child, Save the Children said.

KYIV, 28 May, 2025 – Air raid sirens forced children in Ukraine to miss an average of one in every five school lessons during the past academic year that ends this week with pupils preparing the third consecutive summer under war, Save the Children said.

More children have been killed and injured over the past five days in Ukraine than during the entire month of January, said Save the Children as ceasefire talks come to a close in Saudi Arabia.

Almost 5,000 trained foster families are needed in Ukraine to help children currently living full-time in institutions move into safer family-based care arrangements, especially as the war leaves more children without parental care and at risk of being admitted into institutions, Save the Children said.

Save the Children responds to reports that drone and missile attacks in Donetsk region last night have killed 11 people, and injured 30, including five children.

A 12-year-old boy with Downs Syndrome in Ukraine who has been left severely emotionally distressed by a lifetime of conflict is at risk of becoming homeless due to foreign aid cuts, Save the Children said, as the child rights organisation shared examples of the impacts on cash assistance work around the world.

Following three years of bombardments and attacks across the country, thousands of families and children in Ukraine have experienced catastrophic loss. Not only have many lost their loved ones and homes, they have also lost their incomes, savings and support networks, while the cost of rent, utility bills and food has risen sharply. 

New analysis, released on the eve of International Day of Education, shows 576 education facilities in Ukraine – including schools, kindergartens and universities – were damaged or destroyed in 2024 compared to 256 education facilities in 2023. 

Analysis of Save the Children’s case management data from January to June 2024 reveals 43% of these children are suffering from psychosocial distress. 

New analysis, released on World Children’s Day, shows more than half a million babies have been born in Ukraine between February 2022 and August 2024.

It’s been reported that six children were injured when the southern cities of Odessa and Mykolaiv were attacked.  

This winter is predicted to be the toughest yet for children and their families since the full-scale war broke out almost three years ago due to a combination of weather conditions, infrastructure damage, power blackouts and a lack of access to essential services such as healthcare.