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Just stand out - and some protection from shots and broken glass.
A Ukrainian non-governmental organization makes bulletproof vests and hard hats especially for children.
A girl gets the equipment put on as a test.
Her parents had to flee with her from the embattled Kharkiv region.
Mariana Chugunova, internally displaced person:
“We've been under fire for a long time. But in the morning when we were evacuated, it was quiet. My husband said to me, 'That's it, let's go.' It was scary out on the street. If we had had beings like that, I think it would have been easier for us. I hope it won't happen, but if we ever need to be evacuated again, we'd have a vest and helmet like this and I wouldn't have to worry as much about my child."
Lviv Defense Cluster is the largest Ukrainian manufacturer of bulletproof vests.
The organization provides Ukrainian defenders and civilians with protective equipment free of charge.
The children's version resembles the vests worn by paramedics and journalists in the Ukrainian war zone.
Maksym Plyokhov, Lviv Defense Cluster:
“It's a compromise between weight and level of protection. The vest weighs around two kilograms and is made of ballistic polyethylene, which provides full protection against pistol bullets and small shrapnel or foreign objects. The main goal of the vests is to protect children during evacuation from war zones.«
According to the manufacturers, the helmet is the same as that used by the Ukrainian armed forces – just smaller.
On the back of the bullet-proof vests is a large "Children" in Ukrainian.
According to the manufacturer, nobody before had produced such vests for the little ones.
It was simply never necessary.
Anton Fedchenko, Lviv Defense Cluster:
“We are not happy that we are able to offer the children such protection. But it gives us hope that their evacuation will be safer. Unfortunately, our enemy doesn't care who he's shooting at."
According to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, a total of 430 children have been killed and another 823 wounded since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Hundreds of schools and educational institutions were damaged or completely destroyed by shelling and bombs.
The protective helmets and vests can protect the children at least a little from bullets, shrapnel, glass splinters and debris - they do nothing against the trauma of war.
