The children, aged between 10 and 15 years, came from Slovyansk, Luhansk, Lvov, Cherkasy, Kharkov, Vinnytsia, Ternapol and Kiev. Their parents are fighting in eastern Ukraine, were killed or are war refugees.
The Ukrainians will live with Lithuanian families and will stay in the country until 16 January.
Irina Kozlenko of the Minor Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, who accompanies the children on their trip, said that she expected that a week in Lithuania would help distract them from wartime stress.
“Lithuania is helping Ukraine is this situation. Some call it a hybrid war, but it can be called a real war and, therefore, families, parents must defend the freedom and independence of Ukraine. Their children, meanwhile, are suffering from a lack of attention. Lithuania decided to support these families and to distract them from the stress for at least a week,” she told BNS.
The program of the support camp, organized by the Lithuanian Children and Youth Center and its partners in Lithuania and Ukraine, includes joint excursions and entertainment together with local children, as well as a meeting at the parliament building with participants of protests against the January 1991 crackdown in Lithuania.
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