Deaf school in Ukraine bombed by Russian forces, according to reports

A deaf school in Ukraine has been targeted by Russian forces, destroying a dormitory and office and leaving students stranded – according to reports by The Sun and The Telegraph earlier this month.

The news came just days after the Ukrainian Society for the Deaf (UTOG) dismissed rumours on social media that schools had been attacked, with a widely shared LinkedIn post claiming a supposed bombing left “a community terrorised [and] deaf children traumatised”.

Another, originating from Facebook, said: “I am just heartbroken. I found out this morning that the school for the deaf in Kyiv was destroyed by Russian bombs. This was confirmed by the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf and by a contact of mine in England who has been in touch with a few deaf refugees.”

However, in an email received by The Limping Chicken on 5 March, UTOG’s First Deputy Chairman Tatiana Kryvko said the initial social media posts were “untrue”.

“To date, schools for the deaf in Kyiv have been unaffected,” she said at the time.

Yet on 7 March, just two days after The Limping Chicken‘s first report dispelling the initial rumours was published, The Sun reported one of its journalists crammed five students into their team’s convoy after a deaf school was attacked.

The building, in the town of Kamenskoye, destroyed a dormitory wall while the second hit destroyed an office.

Journalists from The Telegraph also helped the students aged 11 to 19, with the outlets also corroborating the scenario in their own report.

The students were taken to the city of Zaporizhia, where they were welcomed by staff from another deaf school who said the pupils would be sent further west.

The Limping Chicken will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine as the crisis continues.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is an award-winning Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.

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Note: This article was updated on 29 March when The Limping Chicken was informed of The Sun and The Telegraph’s reports.