With walls torn apart and windows boarded up with plywood, the Kindly Children’s Development Center stands in complete darkness. Inside, damaged furniture and destroyed toys bear witness to yet another Russian attack.
Russian troops attacked Kharkiv with “Geranium” killer drones again on June 12, 2025.
Near the damaged house, we meet the center’s owner and child psychologist Anastasia Nikitina. We met her thanks to the dog Bella, a Yorkie found in the forest. The woman says that her kindergarten was destroyed on June 12.
This kindergarten was attended by various children: both those with various sensory impairments and neurotypical children. Anastasia says that she opened the center two years ago. In particular, she did it for her son so that he could attend kindergarten.
Every day, the children had 3-4 classes – they performed logic tasks, played sensory games, exercised creativity, and learned English. The Kindly Children’s Development Center was located on the second floor of the building above the burned-out car.
“I was left without my beloved children,” said Anastasia Nikitina. “They can’t come to my center, to my kindergarten. The toys are destroyed, there are no windows. I’ve been collecting toys for fifteen years. They were all unique. There are a lot of wooden toys that I love.”
Upon entering the center, a scene of darkness and broken furniture unfolds, bearing clear marks of destruction. Surviving toys have been salvaged and moved to a separate room. Anastasia noted that parents assisted with the cleanup, yet much of the damage proved irreparable.
Fortunately, there were no children in the building at the time of the attack. The shelling occurred at night. According to Anastasia, during an air raid, she and her teachers take the children to a special room protected by three walls. Adults support, entertain, and distract the children. That protected room was not damaged at all during the shelling.
“We try not to scare the children,” says Anastasia Nikitina. “We have special games for air raids. But many children are scared. I saw the children, their behavior. And it’s very, very sad. Because the children are scared. There were times when they thought it was explosions, but it was a garbage truck taking out the garbage.”
Read the explanation why the children reacts this way: Military acoustic terror as a novel form of international terrorism. – Igor Rushchenko.
“I really want to restore the center,” says Anastasia. – Because parents ask about this every day. I would really like to take my children back somewhere. The furniture is needed first. We need toys.”
You can help Anastasia rebuild her kindergarten by making a donation, click here https://send.monobank.ua/jar/2xpzian4zE
This is Lilu dog, she was also lost and found. It was thanks to the network of Yorkie owners that we were able to find a home for Monia and meet Anastasia and her development center.
And this is the dog Monia, who brought us to this story through a network of Yorkie owners. Read her story – Monia. The Dog from Kharkiv.
Text Julia Hush. Photo Yevhen Tytarenko, Serhii Petrov, Nataliya Zubar, Julia Hush. Editor Nataliya Zubar. Maidan Monitoring Information Centre.
There will also be a film…
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