A Russian drone strike on a five-story residential building in Kyiv, Ukraine, shows why a third of Ukrainian children are displaced, as reported by UNICEF on Tuesday. Photo by EPA/Stringer
As the Ukraine war nears its fifth year, more than a third of Ukrainian children remain displaced following Russia’s invasion of its neighboring nation.
Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, which has led to the displacement of 2.59 million Ukrainian children, UNICEF reported on Tuesday.
The number of displaced children includes 791,000 who are still inside Ukraine and nearly 1.8 million who are refugees living outside of the country’s borders. Russian forces also have taken many Ukrainian children and relocated them to Russia.
“Millions of children and families have fled their homes in search of safety, with one in three children remaining displaced four years into this relentless war,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Regina De Dominicis.
“For children in Ukraine, safety is increasingly hard to come by as attacks on civilian areas continue across the country,” De Dominicis said. “In many ways, the war is following these children.”
Many children and their families have been forced to flee their homes several times during the war as Russian forces targeted civilian areas.
A recently published UNICEF survey showed that a third of teen respondents between age 15 and 19 said they moved at least two times due to safety reasons so far during the war.
Bombardments by Russian artillery, attack drones and ballistic missiles have killed or injured more than 3,200 children since the war started.
Each year, the number of dead and injured has increased among Ukraine’s children, according to UNICEF.
“Obligations under international humanitarian law must be upheld, and every possible measure to protect children and the civilian infrastructure they rely on must be taken,” De Dominicis said.
“Every child has the right to grow up in safety, and without exception that right must be respected.”
Many of the support services for the country’s children also have been damaged or destroyed, including more than 1,700 schools and other education facilities, which deprives a third of Ukrainian children from attending school on a full-time basis.
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have deprived millions of Ukrainian children and their families of the power needed to heat their homes and water during the country’s extremely cold winters.
Babies and young children are especially vulnerable to harm due to a lack of electrical power, which could lead to hypothermia and respiratory illnesses.
More than 200 medical facilities also have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine over the past year and many more before then.
The stress of the ongoing war is putting a severe mental strain on Ukraine’s children, who often experience a constant fear of attacks that force them to seek shelter in basements and remain isolated while at home.
About a fourth of Ukrainian youth between age 15 and 19 say they are losing hope for the country’s future.
UNICEF officials said they are working with local and national authorities to support Ukrainian children and provide them and their families with safe water, healthcare, food, educational support, mental health services and similar needs.
