Fifteen-year-old Vanya from Ukraine lost his father to a Russian airstrike two years ago and now lives in a house without hot water or electricity, caring for his mother and five-year-old sister. During an encounter in Ukraine, Vanya expressed his fear of the daily drone sounds overhead, a chilling reminder of the war's reality. The journalist refrained from asking Vanya about his father out of concern that this painful memory would haunt him for life.

According to humanitarian organizations, approximately 100,000 children like Vanya have lost parents due to the war, and the total number of casualties has reached around 1.8 million in both Russia and Ukraine. Before going to Ukraine, the number seemed abstract, akin to a score in a computer game, but witnessing the desolation in the streets, with the absence of young people and many injured individuals, brought the magnitude of loss into sharp focus. This staggering figure equates to the combined population of Daejeon and Sejong in South Korea.

President Vladimir Putin claims that the war was necessary due to Ukraine's pursuit of NATO membership posing a security threat to Russia, arguing that the two countries are historically brethren. However, this justification is challenged by the notion that diplomatic means, rather than military aggression, should be employed when disagreeing with another country's political decisions. Contextually relevant is the recent military action by the U.S. and Israel against Iran, framed under the banner of promoting Iranian freedom, yet resulting in the tragic deaths of many children, illustrating a disturbing pattern of justifying war through noble rhetoric while inflicting severe humanitarian crises.