Sixteen-year-old Veronika from Zlatopil in the Kharkiv region recounts the horrors of February 24, 2022, the day Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On that tragic day, her father rushed off to support the defense, leaving Veronika and her mother in uncertain conditions at home. Veronika reflects on how much the war has taken from her family, including her sense of security, their home, and her future plans, which have all been disrupted by the conflict.

Now entrenched in her final year of middle school, Veronika has been separated from her classmates due to the war. She has adapted to online classes but yearns for the companionship of her peers, experiencing a significant loss in her social life due to the circumstances. Despite the challenges, she shows resilience while expressing the emotional weight of her experiences as she copes with the loss of her father, who was killed in battle just two years ago.

In an interview with TT, conveyed through UNICEF, Veronika highlights that her father once believed in her potential, and now she feels the need to find that strength within herself to move forward. The ongoing conflict has tragically led to the deaths of thousands of children, underlining the severe and lasting impact of war on the younger generation in Ukraine.