A group of 15 Ukrainian teens and pre-teens, who have lost one parent to war, are in Malta to get some respite from the drones and missiles back home.

“Coming to Malta is a break from the war,” said 15-year-old Lera.

“It is hard,” she said with the help of a translator.

Lera’s father died during the Russia-Ukraine war that started in 2014 but escalated when Russia launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine in February last year.

After Lera’s father died, her family was contacted by a Ukrainian NGO, Soborna, that offers financial and psychological support to children who lost a parent during the war and to the surviving parent. The youngsters are spending their two weeks at the Paradise Bay Hotel. Inna Voloshgne, from Soborna, said the NGO supports about 200 families, most of whom have lost their father since February 2022.

Inna Voloshgne, from Soborna, said the NGO supports about 200 families, most of whom have lost their father since February 2022.

The NGO offers recreational activities including summer camps and when she heard about the opportunity to take the children to Malta “it was like a miracle”.

“We know about Malta. For us it is like a paradise. Since we’ve been here, the children have done a lot of swimming. They miss it back home. We usually swim in the Black Sea but for the past two years we could not. We can’t swim before the Russians leave our sea,” she said.

The trip was made possible thanks to Anthony Trevisan, a Maltese-Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist who financed the trip and worked in collaboration with Pierre Grech Pillow who has contacts in Ukraine.

The youngsters are spending their two weeks at the Paradise Bay Hotel, during which time they are brushing up their English.

“I have been exposed to other wars in my life and I know that children are the first casualties of war. I wanted to do something about it so, after discussing with colleagues in Ukraine, I thought of bringing them to Malta to give them a break from the reality they face back home,” he said.

Lera’s thoughts often float back to Ukraine where her mother and two young brothers are waiting for her.

Similarly, Nastia, 14, keeps thinking about her mother. “I was very happy to come to Malta for the opportunity to brush up my English. It is a pretty country,” she said.

But she is worried. “My mum told me that there were drones not far from my house and she was at the window watching them,” she said as she called on people to support Ukraine’s suffering people.

Two of the teens taking part in the trip, Nastia, 14 and Lera, 15.

Her father died following injuries sustained in 2014 that put him in a coma for several years. Her mother also works in the military.

As a token of appreciation, the youngsters presented Trevisan with a gift – a piece from a missile. “It was collected from military friends of one of the fathers who died,” Voloshgne said.

As a token of appreciation, the youngsters presented Trevisan with a gift – a piece from a missile

Trevisan added: “It’s a reminder to the world not to forget what they are going though. This piece of metal kills.”