Meet the Ukrainian children who no longer fear bombs and bullets after more than 3 years of war

Mila said there are about 160 kids in the school, and that four children have died since the war began.

One child was killed along with his grandmother when a shell hit their home. Another died in a mysterious fire, and two died from cancer, which Marinka residents attribute to stress from the war.

The shelling occurs mostly at night, but can come at anytime, Mila said. Sometimes it gets so close to the school during the day that it shakes the foundation, forcing everyone to hide in the basement.

This has happened at least 20 times in the last two years.

The fighting in Marinka, like many places along the front lines, is a slow burn.

There might be shelling and shooting for a few hours or a day, but then it will die down for a similar amount of time. 

The result is a life of anxiety, one where residents don't know when or where the next shell will fall. 

"We dread the quiet times," one woman from Marinka told the New York Times through a translator in June. "That's when you know they're saving up for something really heavy."

The "children don’t care about their safety anymore," Mila said. "They got so adjusted to the situation ... and they just don't care that they could get hurt."

In 2016, Sasha was playing at home in his room when a shell landed on it, damaging the roof. Luckily, no one was injured. 

But Sasha said he wasn't scared. When asked why, the translator said "he doesn't know." 

"It's the problem that [Mila] was talking about," the translator said.

Sasha said he hears shelling on average three time a night, and that he wants to be a taxi driver when he grows up.

During one night in the Summer of 2016, Gaffar woke up to a shell landing outside his home, sending shrapnel through the windows.

Julia, Gaffar's mom, said the garage and basement were destroyed, and the windows had to be covered in plastic. 

But Gaffar expressed little fear.

"[The children] were afraid very much in the beginning, but they got used to living with it," Julia said through the translator. 

Liza lives with her mother, disabled grandfather, and disabled uncle in one of the most dangerous streets in Marinka.

In June 2014, a bomb dropped near her house, and her mom was hit with 7 pieces of shrapnel in the chest, legs, and heal.

"There was a lot of blood, and she fell on the ground and started screaming," Liza said.

With no phone, they were forced to carry her mom to the basement. They then waited for the bombing to stop for two hours before Liza rode her bike to a phone to call an ambulance. 

Liza said the only time she gets scared is when the shelling lands really close. 

They live in the apartment complex in the background, which has shell holes and no running water.

Like Liza, they said they are rarely afraid — unless the shelling gets so close that they have to run to the basement.

"They got used to [the shelling]," the translator said "and they are not afraid."

In the last two days, Marinka has been shelled numerous times with 82mm, 120mm, and tanks.