Almost 1,000 boys and girls have been registered as killed or injured in the war in Ukraine, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). However, this is likely only the tip of the iceberg.
Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office noted on Tuesday that Russia's war has killed at least 374 children and injured 723 since the Russian invasion on 24 February, with the largest number of child casualties being recorded in Donetsk Oblast, where 388 children have either been killed or injured.
"As in all wars, the reckless decisions of adults are putting children at extreme risk. There are no armed operations of this kind that do not result in children being harmed,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
The total official tally according to the Prosecutor General's office currently sits at 1,097 children, while UNICEF has verified that at least 972 children have been killed or injured by the violence. This amounts to more than five children a day on average.
"But we believe the real number to be much higher," Russell added.
Tip of the iceberg
Both the Prosecutor General and UNICEF warned that the real figures are likely much higher, as official numbers on casualties don't include those in the Russian-occupied areas and near the front line.
UNICEF's head stressed that these figures once again underscore the urgent need for peace in the region. Overall, a total of some 9,000 Ukrainians have been killed in the Russo-Ukrainian war, according to Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
An eleven-year-old girl who lost both legs in the missile attack at Kramatorsk railway station. Credit: Lviv Territorial Medical Union Hospital
According to Russell, most child casualties resulted from the use of explosive weapons, which “do not discriminate between civilian and combatant”, especially in populated areas, as has been the case in cities such as Mariupol, Luhansk, Kremenchuk, Vinnytsia, and elsewhere.
Aside from physical injuries, almost every child in Ukraine has been exposed to deeply distressing events, while those fleeing violence are at risk of family separation, abuse, sexual exploitation, further attacks, and trafficking.
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The education system has also been devastated, with around one in ten schools damaged or destroyed by the ongoing violence. "Schools have been targeted or used by parties to the fighting, which means families do not feel safe sending their children back to the classroom," UNICEF noted.
Russell stressed that Ukraine’s children "urgently need safety, stability, access to safe learning, child protection services, and psychosocial support. But more than anything, Ukraine’s children need peace.”
