As of October 2024, 1,969 children in Ukraine have lost parental care due to direct consequences of the war, such as the death or disappearance of their parents. In total, 17,241 children have been left without parental care from the war for various reasons, including safety concerns, abandonment in hospitals, or being found without guardians, according to the National Social Service of Ukraine. A further 20,000 children have been forcibly displaced or deported.
 

Disrupted education and social isolation

Children have experienced speech dysfunction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and emotional withdrawal. Many have unwittingly fallen to maladapted coping mechanisms as they absorb the impact of a disrupted education, social isolation and terrifying uncertainty. But there is also a severe risk that many of the children who go on to survive the war will grow up angry and disillusioned, prey to the influence of extremism.

The recent findings of the Global Report on Children's Care and Protection, published by SOS Children's Villages International in October 2024, bear out the situation in Ukraine. The report points to three main drivers of family breakdown:

• Violence: Both domestic, and when perpetrated by the wider community;
• Economic hardship: Financial instability and poverty putting children at a much greater risk of losing parental care;
• Systemic failure: Weak social protection systems too often failing to address the root causes of family separation.

Violence and economic hardship have self-evidently been on the rise over the past three years. But well before the start of the war, the systemic failure of Ukraine's child protection systems was already a matter of deep concern.

Inhumane institutional care

Before the war, Ukraine had over 100,000 children living in institutional care, one of the highest numbers in Europe. These children were placed in a network of state-run boarding schools, baby homes and orphanages, a legacy of the Soviet-era system that emphasized institutional care over fostering. The conditions in these institutions were often inhumane.

As Serhii Lukashov, the National Director of SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine says: "Children need parents. They need someone to sing them a lullaby at night, not renovated institutions where nobody cares about them.”

That's why, especially since the start of the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, placing children without parental care in foster care has been an urgent priority for both the government of Ukraine and NGOs such as SOS Children's Villages.
 

Obstacles preventing foster care

But they have faced a number of obstacles. One is the simple lack of foster families, with potential parents understandably reticent to raise children at a time of such grave crisis. Another is the disruption caused by the unrelenting conflict to Ukraine's legal and administrative systems, which has slowed down the process of placing children in foster care.

A further challenge has come from a more unexpected quarter. Not only have many orphanages and boarding schools continued to operate during the war, but in some cases, with funding predicated on occupancy rates, these bodies have openly resisted efforts at 'deinstitutionalization'.

Serhii and his team have therefore focused on two main objectives over the past three years: to help provide immediate humanitarian protection and services for children and their families, and to enable a greater provision of foster care for children left alone by the war.

Targeted support for children and families

SOS Children’s Villages offers programmes such as speech therapy and trauma counselling to children showing signs of emotional regression. Long-term assistance is provided for displaced families to help them integrate into new communities. The team also works with municipal authorities to embed durable social support systems, as well as case management processes that provide individualized, lasting support for children and families.

As Serhii says, “We don’t just give food packages, we push families toward independence: finding jobs, integrating into communities and regaining self-confidence. We are not the biggest or richest (organization in Ukraine),” he continues, “But we are among the most effective. We are recognized on a national level and have a voice in decision-making processes. Our representatives advise the government on child protection policies under martial law.”

Foster parents learn about care for war-affected children

That includes advice on how Ukraine can make the transition to foster care for children whose parents have been killed or have gone missing. Workshops encourage foster parents to learn how best to care for war-affected children. Programmes seek out foster families, with financial incentives, such as monthly stipends, to help them. Support also includes access to summer camps and educational programs for children in foster care.

Many children whose parents have been killed now live with extended family, such as grandparents, and aunts and uncles. But these guardians often lack the resources to care for children on a long-term basis, so financial and psychological support is now provided for them.

And while no-one should doubt the strong sense solidarity of the Ukrainian people, a good deal of scepticism about foster care remains. Many see institutional care as a safer, more stable solution, which is why success stories are now deployed to shift public perception.

Providing stability for three siblings

The Dmytriev family is one of those success stories. Originally from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, the family fled their home in 2022 with only four backpacks, escaping the intense bombings. After moving to Ivano-Frankivsk, the family—parents Nataliia and Oleksandr and their four foster children - struggled until they connected with staff at SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine. With their support, the family received essential supplies, medical care, and housing assistance. Eventually, through donations from Swiss citizens, they were provided with a permanent home, giving them the stability they had lost.

“Now, we have a comfortable, safe, and warm home. This is our shelter, our haven, our home. This house gives us stability,” says Nataliia.

With newfound security, the Dmytrievs decided to expand their family. After their eldest daughter moved abroad, they welcomed three biological siblings—Yevhen, Yuri, and Anastasia—who had spent two years in Poland after being evacuated from a childcare institution. Their transition into the household was eased by a summer camp for foster families, organized by SOS Children’s Villages.

Asked how such close bonds developed with the children after only a few months, Nataliia seems puzzled by the question. “They say ‘Mom, I love you’ and I tell them I love them too. I truly do. I guess that’s it. Love. Simply love,” Nataliia says.

As the older children prepare for university, Nataliia and Oleksandr are ready to welcome more foster children, ensuring that their home remains a place of warmth, security, and love. “This house and this family have space and love for more children,” their daughter Viktoriya affirms—demonstrating the Dmytrievs’ enduring commitment to providing a safe and loving home for children in need.

A foster family reunited

As with the Dmytriev family, Valentyna and Taras always envisioned a large family, but they never imagined their journey would unfold quite like this. Originally from Nikopol, they became foster parents in 2018, growing their family from one child, their biological son Mykola, to a bustling household of ten.

“Awaiting foster children is much like a pregnancy,” Valentyna recalls. “We fantasized, we prepared, we told Mykola about his new siblings.” The arrival of Albert and Matvey, two young boys in need of a home, marked the beginning of their life-changing mission. Soon after, they welcomed five more siblings, forging a close bond. “Children are also born in your heart,” Valentyna explains. “Mykola was born in my belly, and the other seven were born in my heart.”

Their greatest test came with the full-scale war in Ukraine, which broke the family apart. Seven of their eight children were evacuated abroad, scattered across different homes in Spain while Valentyna, Taras, and one child sought refuge elsewhere. “We often felt helpless and hopeless,” Valentyna says. “Can you imagine being amidst people who you don’t understand and all you want is your children back?”

For over a year, they fought bureaucracy, navigated foreign lands, and clung to hope, determined to reunite their family. Finally, in June 2023, their perseverance paid off—the last of their children returned, marking their personal ‘Family Victory.’ “It was such a big sigh of relief for our entire family,” Valentyna says, tears coming to her eyes. “I firmly believe in victory for Ukraine, but this was our own family’s victory.”

Now settled in SOS Children’s Village Brovary in Ukraine, the family has found the stability they desperately needed. “Stability means everything,” Valentyna says firmly. “Our children can finally be children again, free to dream and grow.”

'We need to recruit ten times more foster families'

There are now more than 400 foster families in Ukraine, but with 62,000 children still without parental care, it is self-evident that many foster families are needed. Serhii Lukashov is frank about the extent of the continuing challenge: “We need to recruit ten times more foster families than we currently have to truly prevent another generation from growing up in institutions,” he says.

“We don’t just need financial aid, we need sustained awareness. If the world forgets Ukraine, it’s not just our organization that will suffer. The children of Ukraine will be abandoned again, left to grow up in despair, anger and hopelessness.”