Nearby are piles of clothes and other humanitarian aid for the refugees, many of whom have come from more eastern regions of Ukraine where the bulk of the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is currently taking place.
Alyona Serdyuk, the head of the centre and a child psychologist, said the volunteers looked after the children while their parents got registered before moving on to more permanent new homes.
"Our main task is to stabilize the children, help them cope with a really stressful situation. Here the children can play, sing, draw, play with our dog. If they need psychological help, we work individually as well," Serdyuk told Reuters.
One refugee, Daniil Savchenko, 20, cradled his pug dog Milo as he recounted his flight from Russian-occupied Berdiansk with his mother.
"(Milo) is definitely scared because even a small movement to the vet, which takes like 10 minutes in our native city, is a very big stress for him...," he said.
"I would actually go to (join) the army if it were not for my mom because I don't want her to have to live without me," he said, as his mother, in tears, kissed and stroked Milo.
