The boy has tears in his eyes. He stares blankly at the floor, having long ago given up any resistance. But the classmates standing around him have no pity. One by one, they walk out of the semicircle and punch him in the face, while the rest of the group laughs mockingly. A spectator films the scene on a phone.
Such videos have been circulating widely in Ukrainian Telegram groups and on TikTok and other social media platforms for months. For Nadia Leshyk, an education official, these are manifestations of an underestimated but growing problem in Ukrainian schools.
“At the beginning of the war, we were all busy with other things,” he said. “But since then, we have seen a steady increase in the number of cases of violence.”
For him, the reasons are clear: minors have been particularly affected by the consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“When young people hear an explosion, it impacts them psychologically,” he said, noting that anxiety disorders and depression have increased dramatically among teenagers, in particular.
A Study by Kyiv-based team from Mindset Research Institute concluded that three-quarters of all Ukrainian students suffered from stress symptoms.
Teens react differently to stress
The study authors emphasized that every teen reacts differently to stress. Many retreated, while others went on the offensive. Instead of feeling like victims, they tried to boost their self-esteem by belittling others – sometimes using violence.
“Some of them have experienced trauma themselves and now want to act like alpha males at the expense of others,” said David, 14, a student at High School 45 in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. “Somehow, people find it easier to insult now,” added others like her 15-year-old classmate Jana, who found herself being bullied after running away from her village and going to a new school. “At some point, I stopped going to class altogether,” she said.
Officials are now actively trying to resolve the problem. Police teams regularly visit High School 45. In addition to teaching students how to respond to air raid sirens and how to deal with landmines and stay safe, they talk about bullying.
“These days, it’s mostly cyberbullying,” said police officer Yana Vitalievna. “Psychological violence occurs in the digital sphere.”
Russia takes advantage of teenagers’ vulnerability
After years of war and remote learning, many young children in Ukraine have smartphones and apps that warn them about Russian attacks. If air raid sirens sound, they can immediately contact their parents through messengers and other such platforms. According to Leshik, Russian authorities are taking advantage of their vulnerability.
“They are running massive propaganda campaigns on social media and deliberately using methods to make children and teenagers aggressive,” he said.
For some time, the Ukrainian government has also been warning that Russian intelligence agents are active in Telegram groups used primarily by young Ukrainians. By using language that appeals to young people, they try to turn teenagers against each other and incite them to violence.
Leschik said Ukrainian schools are overwhelmed and cannot deal with the problem on their own. He said parents need to pay more attention if their children display unusually aggressive behavior. He said families who have been displaced and have lost loved ones are often not in a position to do so. But he pointed out that when an entire generation was growing up with the trauma of war, bullying by teenagers could no longer be tolerated.
He said, “If a teenager hits another person in a group of young people and other people witness or even film the incident, it is very clear who is the culprit and who is the victim.”
This article was translated from German.