Ukraine Opens 5 Boarding Schools to Train War-Bereaved Teens
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 27
Ukraine Opens 5 Boarding Schools to Train War-Bereaved Teens
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 27
Summary
Five government-run boarding schools in Ukraine are taking in teenagers whose fathers were killed in the war, combining grief counseling with military-style training.
The program is aimed at boys expected to step into the roles of fallen fathers, reflecting how the war is reshaping family life and future military recruitment.
In Kyiv, twin brothers Viktor and his sibling entered that pipeline after their infantryman father was killed on the front line when they were 12.
The schools underscore Ukraine's mounting human losses as the war extends beyond the battlefield into the upbringing of the next generation.
Can a boot-camp education truly heal the shattered minds of Ukraine's war orphans, or does it merely breed the next generation of soldiers?
Will the billions allocated for underground schools and military-style boarding programs save Ukraine's youth, or trap them in an endless cycle of conflict?