Children's shoes lit by candles at Manitoba Legislature honour youngest victims of Russia's war in Ukraine

Listen to this article

Dear 2 minutes

The audio version of this article is generated using text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.

Hundreds of children’s shoes lined the steps of the Manitoba Legislature Thursday during a somber ceremony as families gathered to honor the lives of children who have died in Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

“We can’t say all the names of the children who die in Ukraine, but we can stay here, pray and hope that the war ends,” said Oksana Khuytsia, a Ukrainian mother who attended the event.

Artificial candles illuminated 750 pairs of children’s shoes on the steps of the main entrance of the legislature in Winnipeg to remember the youngest victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“It’s very painful. It’s very difficult to think about it. I think every parent, every mom and every dad feels the same when they think about the murdered children: they are thinking about their own children,” said Mila Shykota, one of the organizers of the event.

Two people meet on the stairs of a building lit with candles. — The somber ceremony was also held to remind people of the painful consequences of Russian aggression in Ukraine, an event organizer says. (Alana Cole/CBC)

The event was held to coincide with World Children’s Dayobserved on November 20 on the occasion of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on Children’s rights.

Shykota said the memorial was created in the hope that the lives of children killed in the war will not be forgotten.

It was also intended to be a reminder of the painful consequences of Russia’s aggression in the country.

Several children's shoes are lit with candles on the stairs of a building. — Ukraine’s Interior Minister says three children were killed in a recent Russian attack in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil. At Thursday’s event, their lives and those of other children who have died in the war were remembered. (CBC)

At least 669 children died in the controlled and occupied territory of Ukraine between February 2022 and December 2024, according to the United Nations.

Many of them lost their lives due to the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

The UN believes the number of children killed is likely much higher than officially confirmed deaths.

Recently, three children were among 26 people killed in a Russian drone and missile attack that hit apartment buildings in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, Ukraine’s Interior Minister said Wednesday.

“These numbers are not [only] numbers. This is what happens every day,” Shykota said. “I would like people to remember that.”

Source link