Zaporizhzhia: Stolen Childhood

At the end of 2023, we traveled to Zaporizhzhia to bring children something war continuously attempts to steal from them—a normal childhood.

Working with our partners through the "Circus Magic for Children" project, we hosted festive performances for young people from frontline communities. Over 2,000 children from the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Kherson regions gathered at the circus, received gifts, and for a few precious hours stepped into a world filled with music instead of sirens, and joyful laughter instead of explosions.

At the time, we could not have anticipated how painful returning to these memories would feel today.

When we originally envisioned this celebration, our deepest wish was to offer these children a brief sanctuary—a few hours away from the reality of war.

Regrettably, these young boys and girls have had to grow up far too quickly. They know firsthand the terror of air-raid alarms, have been awakened by heavy blasts, and fully understand why their parents anxiously check their phones before rushing toward shelters.

Our goal was simple yet essential: to restore a sense of carefree childhood, even if only for an afternoon.

We brought this experience to over 2,000 children through vibrant showcase performances at the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro State Circuses. The young guests enjoyed a festive program, met the performers, and received gifts.

After the shows, the children shared their reflections on paper. We received over a thousand remarkable drawings filled with bright, joyful imagery: circus arenas, magicians, acrobats, fairytale characters, colorful balloons, and genuine smiles.

This is the world where every child possesses an undeniable right to experience joy, laugh freely, and dream without constraint.

Russia continues to target the city and the surrounding region daily. On September 2, 2026, Zaporizhzhia was hit by another drone attack. Within a single 24-hour period, settlements across the region absorbed 957 strikes. Almost one thousand impacts in one day—resulting in injuries, damaged residential homes, destroyed vehicles, and shattered infrastructure.

Behind every one of those 957 strikes lies far more than a news statistic. These are family homes, personal transport used for daily errands, familiar neighborhood streets leading to school, and spaces where people envisioned their future.

This is the very same Zaporizhzhia we visited to share a moment of circus magic and joy with local children.

The most heartbreaking aspect today is witnessing how children's laughter can be instantly drowned out by the roar of explosions.

We traveled to Zaporizhzhia with one core objective: to construct a small island of safety where young minds could temporarily leave the war behind. As we distributed gifts and collected their artwork depicting magic, attacks continued to reduce homes to rubble across the country.

The fundamental right of these children to grow up in safety remains under constant threat. Aggression destroys more than physical structures—it disrupts the environment where children ought to learn, form friendships, and dream. We cannot remain silent about this reality.

In news coverage, Zaporizhzhia can easily be reduced to a single line item or a casualty count. Yet behind every statistic are human lives. It is crucial to remind the world that Zaporizhzhia is not a mere point on a map or an abstract name in a headline.

It is a city where children gather excitedly at the circus, watching acrobats and performers for the very first time. It is a place where volunteers prepared gifts with care, and where over two thousand children laughed together, stepping away from the shadow of war for a few hours.

Today, that same city faces ongoing daily attacks.

We cannot allow these strikes to be normalized as everyday occurrences. Behind each blast lies a real life, a childhood spent under sirens, the pain of loss, and destroyed homes.

When we launched the "Circus Magic for Children" project, our main purpose was to deliver a clear message to every child: "You are not alone. We are beside you."

We understand that we cannot restore the years stolen by war, erase memories of explosions, or instantly rebuild what has been destroyed. Yet we can continue to offer steady support to children and their families, while speaking truthfully to the global community about what Zaporizhzhia and other cities are experiencing.

Our responsibility is to ensure that these events do not fade into cold numbers in formal reports. A human life lies behind every statistic, and the future of Ukraine rests with our children.

In 2023 and 2024, we came to Zaporizhzhia to share a moment of celebration. Today, our deepest hope is that these joyful experiences become a permanent, peaceful part of daily life rather than a rare exception.

Children's laughter should never be drowned out by sirens. A trip to the circus should simply be a fun outing, not a temporary escape from hardship. Most importantly, young people should never have to take on adult strength before their time instead of enjoying their youth.

Zaporizhzhia deserves lasting quiet, our children deserve safety, and Ukraine deserves peace.

The world must remember and hold accountable those who attempt to take these rights away every day.