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Gordi: »In the beginning the war was really scary. But I've gotten used to it a bit now."
Together with his mother, Gordi produces candles for the Ukrainian army out of wax, cardboard and empty animal feed cans.
They are supposed to warm the soldiers in trenches and help with the preparation of food.
Many families have taken part in the handicraft courses over the past two months - everyday wartime life even for the little ones.
Employees of Unicef, the United Nations Children's Fund, traveled through Ukraine for a week in November to document the situation of children in the country.
The German speaker Christine Kahmann was there.
She worries a lot about the winter, when it can get as cold as minus 20 degrees in Ukraine.
Christine Kahmann, Unicef spokeswoman:
»Not only is it dark, but there is no heating.
People don't know how to cook, how to make tea water for their children.
Of course, all of this worries us.
And on top of that, the facilities for children, hospitals, maternity wards, and schools have to be kept warm, otherwise the children will freeze.«
Unicef has set up several centers for children in Ukraine - like here in a metro station in the city of Kharkiv.
Christine Kahmann, Unicef spokeswoman:
»There are now more than a hundred of these places where children practically have a retreat.
Where they can get psychosocial help, where they can play, where they can paint.
When we were there, magic was done.
There was a lot of children laughing, an apparent normality, a certain light-heartedness.
And at the same time, the warning apps on our phones were flashing all the time.
Above there were attacks on the city.
The town was pitch black when we got up because the power went out again.”
The Russian military fired about 70 rockets and drones into Ukraine on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian sources.
The primary goal was again the infrastructure.
There are frequent power outages.
This also applies to institutions such as schools or kindergartens.
And the children have to learn to deal with dangers.
Christine Kahmann, Unicef spokeswoman:
»There are places where they can get information about mines and duds, so the children also know how to protect themselves.
Many places in the country are mined.
And it's about the children knowing not to approach objects that seem suspicious to them.
And that they know how to behave in this situation.
And all of that does something to the soul of the children.”
According to UNICEF, 3.3 million Ukrainian children are dependent on humanitarian aid.
They urgently need winter clothes.
In addition, the supply of power generators is essential.
In addition, only about 60 percent of the schools in the country are currently functional, because according to Unicef information, only those with an existing protective basement may be opened.
One of them is the school in Zhytomyr in central Ukraine.
A normal everyday school life is hardly possible here, the children deal with the restrictions caused by the war in their own way.
Christine Kahmann, Unicef spokeswoman:
»We also know that children who paint often paint pictures of families and houses.
Dad is always there.
There's always home on it.
And I think that also shows that children long for a certain normality.
That they want their old lives back.”
According to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, more than 400 children have been killed and more than 800 injured since the start of the war.
Many children have a high need to talk and receive psychological support, says Christine Kahmann.
They feel their parents' fears and are often depressed themselves.
Christine Kahmann, Unicef spokeswoman:
»In the place we visited, Balaklija, near Kharkiv, which has only recently been accessible again, we also heard that many families would like to come back to their places to to experience a certain everyday life there again.
But we must not forget: children in areas that are not directly under fire, children who did not have to flee, also suffer from this war because it keeps catching up with them.”
Back in Kyiv doing handicrafts for families.
According to the initiative, it has already made more than 3,000 such multifunctional candles and sent them to the Ukrainian army.
Gordi's mother: »You are part of everything that is happening at the moment. Without the hope of the children and without our help, it is all very difficult.«
