A tear-streaked boy stands with his head bowed as classmates circle and strike him while others jeer and one student films the attack on a phone. Clips like this have become more common on Telegram, TikTok and other social networks in recent months, and education officials say they point to a widening problem in Ukrainian schools.
Nadiya Leshik, an education official, says the focus at the start of the war was elsewhere, but cases of school violence have steadily increased since then. She links the trend to the mental and emotional toll of living through conflict: the sound of explosions, the threat of attack and prolonged uncertainty have driven up anxiety and depression among teenagers.
Research from the Kyiv-based Mindset institute supports that picture: three-quarters of Ukrainian students surveyed showed symptoms of stress. The study noted that adolescents respond in different ways — some withdraw, others act out. In some cases, victims or traumatized young people try to reclaim status or self-worth by putting others down, sometimes through physical violence.
A 14-year-old pupil at High School 45 in Kyiv described classmates who, after traumatic experiences, adopt aggressive postures to appear dominant. A 15-year-old classmate who fled her village and changed schools said the harassment she faced drove her to miss classes for a time. She said people now seem to find it easier to insult others.
Authorities have begun to respond. Police teams visit schools to teach wartime safety, from air-raid procedures to landmine awareness, and to speak with students about bullying. Officer Yana Vitalievna notes that much of the abuse now takes place online: psychological violence and harassment frequently occur in digital spaces.
Smartphones and messaging apps that children use to warn each other about attacks also carry harmful content, creating new channels for insults, threats and coordinated abuse. Leshik warned that outside actors are exploiting young people’s vulnerability on these platforms. She said Russian propagandists and intelligence operatives have been active in youth-oriented Telegram groups, using targeted language and imagery to stir discord, normalize aggression and push adolescents toward violent behavior.
Leshik urged that schools cannot handle the problem alone. Parents and caregivers should watch for sudden increases in aggression, withdrawal or other worrying behavior, especially in families that have been displaced or lost relatives and may be struggling to provide attention and support. She emphasized that a generation growing up amid war trauma must not come to see bullying as normal.
When an adolescent is attacked by peers and others watch or record rather than intervene, the dynamics are clear, Leshik said: there is a perpetrator and there is a victim. Preventing further harm will require coordinated efforts by schools, families, police and community mental health services to provide protection, psychological support and education about digital safety.
Translated from German.