Ukrainian parents write contact details on their children in case they’re killed

The heart-breaking images show the desperate lengths some parents will go to in order to protect their children, as they write numbers on their kids’ clothes and backs in case they are orphaned by the conflict in Ukraine.

Anastasiia Lapatina, a Ukrainian journalist at The Kyiv Independent, shared a picture on Twitter, adding: “Ukrainian mothers are writing their family contacts on the bodies of their children in case they get killed and the child survives. And Europe is still discussing gas.”

What does the photo show?

The photo showed a little girl called Vira, with her birth date written in pen on her back alongside several numbers.

Sasha Makoviy, Vira’s mother, said on Instagram that she did this “in case something happens, someone would welcome her as a survivor”.

Sasha, from Kyiv, signed her daughter’s back on 24 February 2022, the day Russia invaded “with my hands trembling very much.”

“Even a crazy thought flashed through my mind. why didn’t I tattoo her with this information?”

Sasha shared a second photo showing a card with Vira’s information.

The mother said: “I still can’t bring myself to put this scrambled paper in the second photo out of my overalls pocket.”

Lapatina has also shared a picture of parents writing their children’s blood types on their hands and wrists in case they become trapped following an air strike.

How have other Ukrainian parents responded? 

Parents have reacted to the photo with similar stories of how they have protected their children.

One person said: “On the first day of the war I did the same for my 3-year-old son. And although we are now with him in England, the paper is always with him.”

Others said they had stitched paper with emergency contact details into their child’s clothes or created bracelets with contact numbers on them.

On Twitter, one Ukrainian father shared an image of his little girl’s t-shirt with numbers on, writing: “My 5 years old daughter wearing this t-shirt while Europe thinking about Russian oil, gas and money.”

It comes after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing “real genocide”, as he appeared visibly emotional, flanked by his soldiers and wearing a bullet-proof vest.

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