"Galyna Lutsenko, a crisis psychologist, is moving busily among a small group of children seated around a table in a basement in Kherson, unique in being Ukraine's only leading city almost directly on the frontline with Russian forces and one where people live with the daily threat of attack. She dangles a plasticine butterfly on a thread over a playhouse on the table. Her own house in the city, she says, was hit by Russian shelling in 2024, injuring her in the leg and stomach."
"The streets above ground explain this subterranean activity. Supermarket and shop windows in this city on the right bank of the Dnipro River are boarded against shrapnel, while other buildings show damage caused by artillery and glide bombs. Long stretches of the city's streets are being draped in anti-drone nets, including the main approach from the coast a 20-minute drive away that is now a net tunnel on three sides."
"With Russian forces just across the river, daily life is lived under cover for the 60,000 residents including 5,000 children who remain, out of its original 300,000 inhabitants. The children are always under pressure, Lutsenko says. They are always stressed, with some of the children afraid to come out after the shelling. She gives a plasticine turtle to one of the children and asks whether he would like to put it in the house."
Kherson sits almost directly on the frontline with Russian forces, with supermarket windows boarded, buildings damaged by artillery and glide bombs, and anti-drone nets draping long stretches of streets. About 60,000 residents remain, including 5,000 children, down from 300,000. Daily life is lived under cover, with a basement community centre serving as a shelter and safe space hosting therapy, yoga, dance rehearsal and craft sessions. Crisis psychologist Galyna Lutsenko uses art therapy with children, helping them process stress and fear after shelling that injured her and damaged her home in 2024. Many children remain afraid and stressed, reluctant to leave shelter after attacks.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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