Amid war and destruction, children in Ukraine bear heavy burden as families struggle to carry on

The playground in Kostyantynivka is lovingly maintained, even amid the vagaries of war and the eastern town's crumbling post-industrial landscape.

A set of colourfully painted concrete lions greet children and their parents who enter its winter-crusted confines in search of a few moments of normal.

Situated across the street from the Eastern Ukrainian town's music conservatory, the tree-lined park has everything you'd expect: slides, a turnstyle, yellow-painted climbing structures and swings, one of which desperately needs a shot of lubricant on a recent sleepy Saturday.

Under a weak, grey sky, parents with strollers, the elderly and a few couples went about their lives, the happy cries of children mingling with the nearby deep rumble and thump of artillery rounds.

No one flinched. No one looked up. No one seemed to notice. Everyone carried on, heads bowed as though it was the routine soundtrack of life.

On that day, Russian and Ukrainian artillery — less than 20 kilometres away — held a duel, one of the seemingly never-ending clashes in the maelstrom that has been the nearby Battle of Bakhmut, in the eastern Donbas region.

"Life is hard right now," said Lairisa, a grandmother, with a kind face and brown eyes that seemed constantly on the verge of tears. "There are explosions every night. In our building, we do not have windows in the hallway."

She stands outside of the music conservatory arm in arm with her 13-year-old granddaughter, Dariya, who is calm, matter-of-fact and hard-eyed. Both of them requested their last names not be used for safety reasons.

"I don't usually talk about the war with my friends, but when we do talk about it, we usually talk about how scary it is," said Dariya, who is in the seventh grade and attending classes online.

Saturday is usually spent at the music conservatory, but on this day, the two of them are also picking up relief food supplies in a bright yellow  box stamped with the blue Ukrainian trident.

Lairisa simply bursts with praise for her granddaughter, saying how she is a calming presence during attacks when they take to the shelters. She said she doesn't know how to explain to Dariya why the war is happening.

She is not alone. Many parents — still processing their own trauma — often struggle to know what to say about the horrendous violence that permeates their lives.

Lairisa's granddaughter is a good student, a creative soul who is fond of music and the arts, she added, hence the music lessons.

Asked about her dreams for the future, Dariya responded: "I don't think about the future."