Save Ukraine's Children

 

Between February 24 and August 10, at least 942 children were killed or injured in Ukraine – an average of five children every day — with 356 children losing their lives and 586 wounded, according to data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The UN has said that the total number of casualties is likely to be much higher than those currently verified and the exact ages of all child casualties are not all known.

 Most of the verified child casualties were due to the use of explosive weapons in populated, urban areas.

Children in parts of the country are growing up on the frontlines of brutal warfare as urban areas are used as battlefields, leading to deaths and life-changing injuries, and destroying infrastructure needed to guarantee access to life-saving food and water.

Millions of children from Ukraine have fled their homes, with an estimated 3.1 million children living as refugees in neighbouring countries. About 3 million children are believed to be internally displaced inside Ukraine.

Save the Children’s Country Director in Ukraine, Sonia Khush, explained,  “Although children in Ukraine have nothing to do with the causes of the war, they are the ones most affected by it. They are growing up to the sound of bombs and shelling, and to the sight of their homes being destroyed, their schools damaged and their friends and family members being killed or injured.” Khush continued: “Children need more than humanitarian aid, they need hope: hope that this war will end; hope that they can return home; and hope for a bright future. Without meaningful support and an immediate cessation of hostilities, Ukraine will not only become a graveyard for even more children but also for children’s hopes and dreams.”

Save the Children is calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities as the only way to protect children from violence and other violations of their rights. The aid agency condemns attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, and the use of ballistic missiles and other inaccurate explosive weapons, which are causing civilian casualties, and violate international humanitarian law.

At least 16% of children killed in six months of war in Ukraine aged under 5 - Ukraine | ReliefWeb