Tina and Tymofii Tyshchenko
7 years old and 3 years old
7 years old and 3 years old

(I'd like to have) the superpower of fire because it can destroy. I would first destroy Putin, because he is very bad.



Tina and Tymofii Tyshchenko pose for a photo, showing me how they hide in the bathroom during air-raid sirens.
Sofiia Ovsieienko
3 years old
3 years old

Sofiia plays with toys in her bathroom. She and her mother hide there during drone attacks.



Sofiia Ovsieienko drinks water in the basement of a house that residents use as a shelter.
Matvii Yakymov
4 years old
4 years old

Matvii lies on the bathroom floor after playing and reading books, just as he does during air-raid sirens.

Matvii Yakymov's favorite book, "Battle for the City".

Matvii plays a game where he protects those around from Russian missiles in the bathroom at home.

Andrii Davydenko
10 years old
10 years old

Andrii poses for a portrait in the pantry at the parking lot where his family hides during rocket attacks.


L: A shelf in Andrii Davydenko's room, filled with his toys and belongings. Among them, shell casings. R: Andrii Davydenko's ball and toy gun on his bedroom floor.

Andrii Davydenko sleeps in his parents’ dressing room, surrounded by his favorite panda and capybara toys.
Tymofii Moskalchuk
4 years old
4 years old



L: Tymofii hides in a “cage” he built himself from a chair and a toy bag in the kitchen. R: Tymofii Moskalchuk's painting of explosions.

for The Kyiv Independent