The heart-breaking way Ukrainian parents are keeping their kids safe
As the people of Ukraine brace for increasing military conflict from Russia, parents are taking every measure to keep their children safe.
Parents in Ukraine have resorted to sending their children to school wearing stickers that list their blood types in case the worst happens while out of their parents' sight.
On Monday, after President Vladimir Putin gave a speech in which he “recognised the independence” of two separatist, pro-Russia regions of eastern Ukraine - an act Kyiv’s mayor described as a declaration of war - many parents started sending their children to school with special stickers.
Vasyl and Marta, whose last names are being withheld for their protection, took part in the protection measure when sending their two daughters, age 5 and 9, to school in their village 15 kilometres from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
“It’s like a piece of paper, with blood type information, the names of their parents, and telephone numbers,” Vasyl tells Today via phone.
“There is no one form for such a sticker. It depends on every parent. It’s up to them.”
Mothers in the Ukraine started discussing the sticker system in closed Facebook groups after Putin's speech in order to do what they could to ensure the safety of their kids.
“This was a debate in one of (many) closed groups on Facebook,” Olga Tokariuk, a Kyiv-based freelance correspondent, tells Today. “Some schools actually made these stickers mandatory.”
Ukrainian mother Khrystyna has also had several safety conversations with her three daughters, making sure her 3 and 5 year olds know their address, their first and last names, and their mother’s full name.
“What they know is that, ‘You should listen to your mum and do what she says.’ And if I said, ‘We go with me’ —because you know, kids want to do what they want — I said, ‘No, you do what I say, and that’s it. And if you should hear loud noises, you listen to me very carefully.’”
While Khrystyna is continuing to send her 13-year-old to school, she is keeping her two youngest daughters home.
"We pray a lot,” she said. “We just pray for peace.”
Image credits: Getty Images