6-year-old Ukrainian girl wishes war to end to go back to school

By Davit Kachkachishvili

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) - A child in northern Ukraine wishes the war to end to go back to school as Russia's war entered its 35th day.

Living with her family in Brovary city, 6-year-old Miroslava Bogdashkina told Anadolu Agency about her dreams and what she went through in the war environment.

After the war erupted on Feb. 24, Miroslava and her family took shelter in the cultural center of the city and they have been living there since then.

Noting that she was going to school until the war started, first-grade student Miroslava said: "It's been a long time since I last went to school. I miss my classmates and teachers very much."

- ‘War is scary but I am not afraid’

Expressing that the ongoing conflicts in her country are frightening, Miroslava said: "War is very difficult for children, it is scary, but I am not afraid."

Talking about her dreams, Miroslava said she wants to be a cook in the future, and go to Sweden by plane to avoid seeing the war. She also stressed that "the war is very bad."

The kid said that she is looking forward to the end of the war and misses the zoo visits they made with the school because she loves animals very much. "It's very important to me that the war is over because I want to go to both school and the zoo.”

Meanwhile, Natalya, Miroslava's mother, also volunteers to distribute humanitarian aid collected at the center to those in need.

Expressing that they will stay in the center for a while, Natalya said: "My elders live in a neighborhood outside the city. I haven't seen my mother for a long time and I don't know when I will see her again."

“We dream of ending the war. Everyone has the same dream,” she added.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has drawn international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,179 civilians have been killed and 1,860 have been injured in Ukraine, with the true figure likely to be much higher, according to the UN.

More than 4 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan​​​​​​​ in Istanbul.