Russia’s war in Ukraine has orphaned some 2000 Ukrainian children, leaving them with physical and psychological wounds and adult responsibilities beyond their years. Journalist Anna Nemtsova interviewed orphaned children across Ukraine, many of whom witnessed a parent being killed by Russian forces. She also looked at the impacts felt by Russian youth growing up surrounded by violence. We talk to Nemtsova about the harms she says could last a generation. We also talk about the trajectory of the nearly four-year war with former Ukraine ambassador Steve Pifer, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Trump prepare to meet Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Guests:

Anna Nemtsova, Eastern Europe correspondent, The Daily Beast; contributing writer, The Atlantic; her new piece for KQED is “A Generation Orphaned by War: Ukrainian Children Grow Up Amid Loss and Recovery"

Steven Pifer, affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University; former ambassador to Ukraine and senior director at the National Security Council in the Clinton administration

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices