UNICEF: More than half of Ukrainian children displaced since Russian invasion

UNICEF: More than half of Ukrainian children displaced since Russian invasion
March 24, 2022, 3:29 pm

According to the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than half of Ukrainian children have been displaced since Russia invaded Ukraine (File photo: Euromaidan Press)

The Euronews reported, according to the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than half of Ukrainian children have been displaced since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Around 4.3 million children -- more than half of the country's estimated child population of 7.5 million -- have been displaced in the one month since the war started.

It includes around 1.8 million children who have fled to neighbouring countries and 2.5 million who are displaced within Ukraine, according to the UN agency, which is focused on providing humanitarian aid to children.

UNICEF's executive director Catherine Russell said: "The war has caused one of the fastest large-scale displacements of children since World War II."

This is the basement area of the Municipal Perinatal Hospital in Kharkiv. Tiny newborns and older infants that are sick and need special care (File photo and text: Euromaidan Press)

According to Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine's human rights commissioner, the war has also resulted in the deaths of at least 128 children since the start of the war.

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Another 172 children have been injured since the war began, Denisova said, adding however that the actual number is likely much higher.

Russell said in a speech earlier this week, that "inside Ukraine, children and their families are hiding in basements and sheltering in train stations".

Russell added: "Millions have little to no access to safe water, or adequate sanitation and hygiene. Millions of children have been out of school."

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UNICEF is working to reach children and families inside the country, dispatching emergency supplies and aid.

Source: euronews

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