Millions of Ukrainian children in crisis as fighting grinds on

The damage caused by Putin's missiles is clear to see in cities across Ukraine but this war is having a deadly impact out of sight too.

Around 3 million Ukrainian children are missing out on basic necessities such as food, heating, shelter and crucially, mental health support.

And 1.5 million young Ukrainians are at risk of developing depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

"There is a lot of trauma, a lot and it's very hard. In fact, our children lost their childhoods," said Halyna Skipalska, the director of charity Health Right Ukraine.

Twenty-two-year-old Tetyana has recently escaped a border town in the far east, with her one-year-old daughter Amelia.

"There were strong explosions, the bombs were flying. My child was under stress," she explained through tears.

"I was living in stress. I didn't think there was an exit."

With her second baby now on the way, she didn't want to risk another day under bombardment, so has fled to a halfway house in Kyiv.

"I feel part of the family here, I feel calm," she said.

She lives in temporary accommodation with other solo mums. Some of their husbands are fighting, some of their husbands have died, some don't know where their partners are.

The mothers are offered counselling, helped into work and new homes, and their children are offered schooling, therapy and friendship.

"They had two years of COVID, they had two years of war, their mental health has just deteriorated. The mothers were telling us, this is like hope for them, they have hope for their children," said World Vision Ukraine response director Chris Palusky.

The program relies on donations and Kiwi dollars have helped fund the work through World Vision.

"We are very grateful for the support. Without it, we wouldn't survive," Skipalska said.

Despite the need only growing greater, as the fighting grinds on, global attention is fading and donations are dropping off.

If you ask anyone on the streets of Kyiv what their message is to the world, the answer is resounding: please don't forget about us.