Invisible at the Frontline: Disability and Childhood in Wartime Ukraine - Needs and Barriers Faced by Children with Disabilities and their Families in War-affected Communities of Ukraine (April 2025) [EN/UK]

INTRODUCTION

Children's disability landscape in Ukraine was already unique and complex before February 2022, and it was further complicated and exacerbated since Russia's full-scale invasion of the country. The situation is particularly acute in the regions close to the frontline, such as Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Mykolaiv oblasts. This report presents the findings of the assessment of the situation of children with disabilities in Ukraine, with a special focus on the regions close to the frontlines. War Child would like to acknowledge and thank the facilitators and key informants, caregivers, adolescents, and survey respondents, who participated and made this assessment possible.