Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British actor and UNICEF ambassador Orlando Bloom have pointed to the dire consequences of the war for millions of children in the country.
“The war is destroying the childhood of Ukrainian children,” Zelenskyy said in a video of his meeting with Bloom released Monday. Thousands of schools were damaged or destroyed.
“Nearly 2.7 million Ukrainian schoolchildren are forced to learn online or in a mixed form,” the president said. Girls and boys were at risk of developing depression, anxiety or other mental health problems.
Visiting war orphans
Bloom, who has been a humanitarian ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) since 2009, said at the meeting that he was visiting a family with five children of their own and four adopted war orphans.
UNICEF supports such parents “so that every Ukrainian child can be part of a warm, nurturing and devoted family,” said the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, who also posted photos on Instagram. Such models are better for children than for houses. “Children in Ukraine need to get their childhood back,” Bloom said.
“Missing Children”
Bloom also touched on the plight of “missing children” whose whereabouts needed clarification. The 46-year-old described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal” without giving his name. The International Criminal Court in The Hague had issued an arrest warrant against Putin for child abduction.
Russia denies deporting children. Moscow emphasizes that the children were brought to safety before the war in Ukraine. On the other hand, Zelenskyj complains that thousands of girls and boys are being forcibly “Russified” and robbed of their Ukrainian identity.
Source: Krone
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