On the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression and the Day of Remembrance for Children Killed as a Result of the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska, together with the parents of deceased children and ambassadors of foreign states, honored the memory of young Ukrainians killed by Russia.
The event was attended by Iryna Dmytrieva, mother of four-year-old Liza, who was killed in a Russian missile strike on the center of Vinnytsia in July 2022, and Maksym Kulyk, who lost his three children – ten-year-old Kyrylo, two-year-old Demyd, and two-month-old Uliana – in a Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih in November last year.
President Zelenskyy noted that over 11 years of war, Russia has killed hundreds of children in Ukraine.
"These are not just numbers or statistics – these are stories, tears, pain, the eyes of parents who no longer know how to go on living. These children live on in our hearts, but that alone is not enough. We need justice – for all of us, but above all for the parents, families, and loved ones. Everything must be done to ensure that this evil is punished, that the killers of children are brought to justice, and that this war ends with a just peace," the President said.
First Lady Olena Zelenska addressed the parents who lost their children with words of support.
"We – who are also someone's parents, someone's children – want you to find the strength to go on living. Your children would have wanted that for you. They would want you not to break, but to move forward for the sake of life," she said.
The First Lady called on the international community to help stop Russia from killing Ukrainian children.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 631 children have been killed as a result of Russian shelling and hostilities. However, this number is not final, as Ukraine does not have access to the temporarily occupied territories or information about the number of children killed in cities and villages there.
Those present honored the memory of the children killed by Russia with a moment of silence and laid toys at the wall of the children's martyrology, where portraits of young Ukrainians are displayed.
The International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression has been observed globally since 1982. Ukraine joined the tradition in 2021. In 2022, First Lady Olena Zelenska launched the “Voices of Children” initiative in remembrance of Ukrainian children killed by Russia. This year, those voices became phone calls that will forever remain unanswered.
The event was organized by Advisor – Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation Daria Herasymchuk.
