PHOTO // Moldovan parliament speaker conveys message after watching documentary “Once Upon a Time in Ukraine”

Over 2,000 children have been killed or seriously injured in this ruthless war in Ukraine. They are the children of war and their greatest and most difficult wish is for peace. Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu today made statements to this effect, after watching the documentary titled, Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, screened in the context of four years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The official emphasized that the film told the story of children of war, who are spending their childhood in conditions that are hard to imagine.

“Ivanna, Ruslan, Myroslava, Maxym – they are the children of the war in Ukraine. Children whose childhood was shattered overnight, and whose homes and hometowns were destroyed by Russian bombs. Today, as we mark a sad day in the history we are living through – 4 years of the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine – we watched the documentary, Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, a difficult film to watch, which tells the story of the children of war. These children represent living proof that justice, even at too high a price, will prevail. Even under rubble, in underground shelters, in cities like Bucha or Mariupol, they choose life and faith in tomorrow. They have turned courtyards and playgrounds destroyed by missiles into spaces of imagination. They have invented fairy tales in which armies of vegetables defeat the Russian invaders. They have continued the Ukrainian tradition of music and dance even in bombed-out studios. In the midst of ruins, they chose to create,” said Igor Grosu.

The speaker noted that no child should grow up to the sound of explosions and no child should become a statistic.

“After 4 years of war, the statistics are terrible; official figures show that over 2,000 children have been killed or seriously injured in this ruthless war. We know that the reality could be even more painful. They are the children of war and their greatest and most difficult wish, as Ivanna said, is ‘Let there be peace. To see the sun and the flowers.’ Let us cherish peace. And all those responsible for the death and suffering of these children must be held accountable,” said Igor Grosu.

Ukraine was attacked by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022. Since the beginning of the war, Moldova has received the highest number of Ukrainian refugees in Europe relative to its population. During this period, refugees from Moldova have benefited from social, medical, and educational assistance, as well as the opportunity to enter the labor market.