As the threat of a potential Ukraine invasion looms amid increasing tensions with Russia, Ukrainian parents are putting stickers bearing the blood type of their children in their school uniforms in case they are attacked.
Olga Tokariuk, a local journalist, informed Today that many parents are discussing and debating the Ukraine invasion and the stickers with their children's blood type in social media groups in case they will need blood transfusion following an attack. Some schools insisted it's a requirement. Establishments have also started conducting emergency drills with the children in case the situation turns for the worst.
Parents Vasyl and Marta (not their real names) confirmed that their 9-year-old daughter has a sticker among her things. Aside from her blood type, they also included contact numbers and their names.
Mom Khrystyna (not her real name) said she has just learned about the stickers and has yet to prepare this for her 13-year-old daughter. She had a "very deep talk" with her daughter, who still goes to school, about the situation with Russia. However, Khrystyna has not allowed her two younger kids in kindergarten and preschool to go out anymore.
An Old War with Russia
Ukraine and Russia, once part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), have been at odds for more than eight years. The USSR collapsed in the early 1990s, and Ukraine joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with other European and North American countries. Putin, however, saw NATO as a threat and has insisted that Ukraine is still part of Russia.
In the last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased its military presence around the Ukraine borders. In recent weeks, diplomatic efforts to curb the tension have not drawn positive results, prompting international leaders, especially in the United States, to assess that a Ukraine invasion will soon follow.
What prompted the panic among parents and the schools was Putin's acknowledgment on Monday, February 21, of the Ukrainian separatist groups, Donetsk and Luhansk. He also ordered Russian troops to deploy in the eastern regions close to these groups. Tokariuk said this acknowledgment was taken as a declaration of war against Ukraine despite Putin's denial of a Ukraine invasion.
If you want to know how Ukrainians react to Putin's speech, here's a glimpse: moms on Facebook discuss putting stickers on their children's clothes, when they go to school, indicating their blood type. Make no mistake: this speech was perceived as a declaration of war on Ukraine
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) February 21, 2022
Surrogate Babies at Risk, Too
Meanwhile, parents from across the world who have surrogacy arrangements with Ukrainian women also fear for the safety of their surrogate babies.
In Ireland, efforts to arrange for their safe travel out of Ukraine have been set in place with different surrogacy groups and the Department of Foreign Affairs. For years, Irish couples have sought surrogates in Ukraine's private clinics, and about a dozen are due before May 2022.
It usually takes a month for surrogate births to be registered and for the surrogate babies to be granted travel documents. However, some travel arrangements were expedited so that the babies and their families could fly home safely to Ireland before the Ukraine invasion.
