The spectacle is peaceful, but its symbolic dimension deeply dramatic: residents have carefully lined up 109 empty prams in Rynok Square, the historic market square of Lviv, in western Ukraine. There are car seats for babies or strollers, all placed side by side, a few meters from a statue covered with corrugated iron, just to protect it from Russian strikes. These strollers symbolize the 109 children Ukrainian officials say have died since the Russian offensive began just over three weeks ago.
Right next to it, a printed sign indicated the number “108”. But it didn’t take long for the balance sheet to be updated, upwards. A marker has crossed out the number 8 to replace it with 9.
“The empty prams in Rynok Square today symbolize the life of little angels. They are now defending the Ukrainian skies instead of the decisive actions of the world,” writes bitterly Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv. “This is the terrible price of war that Ukraine is paying today. We call on all adults around the world to stand together as one shield to protect Ukrainian children and give them a future. Urge the governments of other countries to close the skies over Ukraine,” he continues.
The mayor repeated a call made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other elected officials, urging NATO and the West to “close the skies” to the Russian military by establishing a no-fly zone over the ‘Ukraine.
“The future of Ukraine”
“I feel a lot of pain,” 28-year-old Katerina told AFP, walking past the facility with her little girl, less than a year old, herself in a stroller. “Pain for the future of the country because these children are the future of Ukraine”.
Ukrainian federal prosecutors said Friday that 109 children died in the violence, and more than 130 were injured. But these figures being preliminary, they suggest that the true toll is undoubtedly much higher, notes the NPR site. It is the oblast (region) of kyiv which has the most tragic toll, with 55 children dead. In Kharkiv Oblast, there are 34 so far.
In Mariupol, a child died of thirst under the rubble. Last week, a maternity hospital and a pediatric hospital in the same city were hit by a Russian strike, injuring 17 people. Finally, bombs and artillery fire damaged 439 educational institutions, of which 63 were destroyed.