The toll of Russia's war on the children of Ukraine
This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Scott Pelley reported from Ukraine. He spoke with Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, who spoke about the toll the war has taken on Ukrainian families.
"Half [our] families are separated," Zelenska said. "Someone is at the front, someone went abroad to save their children, someone is under [Russian] occupation. People are afraid to leave their [homes] because of shelling. They're afraid even to try to evacuate. We have thousands of dead. Hundreds of children are dead."
While reporting from Ukraine, Pelley and his team also traveled to Chernihiv, a city about three hours north of the capital, Kyiv. There they met Ukrainians who had been sheltering in public schools when they were bombed by Russian forces.
Sixteen-year-old Dmytro Ivanov is one of them. He recounted how, after the bombing, he helped save a nurse's life.
"As soon as the bombing happened, I was on the first floor. At that moment, shrapnel started flying around, and I ran to the second floor, where they were calling for medical staff or anyone who could help," Ivanov told 60 Minutes. "I ran there. They were getting that woman from under the rubbles, the nurse. Her right arm was torn off. I picked her up and helped bring her down to the first floor where doctors took her."
Ivanov told Pelley that that the war has inspired him to become a doctor one day so he can help others.
The 60 Minutes team also met brothers who had been sheltering in another school that was attacked. Nine-year-old Ivan and 13-year-old Nazar Horbach spoke about what it was like when the bomb struck.
"I was deep into my book, and a moment later, I woke up," Nazar said. "I got up from my chair and realized we had just been bombed."
The pair helped nurse their mother, Natalya, back to health after she was badly wounded in the bombing.
Afterward, Nazar Horbach wrote a song about his experience, which he shared with 60 Minutes. In the video above, he is seen playing a bandura, Ukraine's national instrument.
"Filled with love and inspiration, we will grow our own gardens, so we could also grow happily in our Motherland," Nazar sang. "Our songs are so melodious. So may bandura play, and may this bloom and blossom fill our loved Ukraine."
The video above was produced by Brit McCandless Farmer and Will Croxton. It was edited by Will Croxton.
