One in two Ukrainian children has been displaced since Russia began its invasion on Feb. 24, according to a statement from the United Nations Children’s Fund on Thursday.
UNICEF’s statement added that 4.3 million children have been displaced, which is more than half of Ukraine’s estimated 7.5 million child population.
This figure includes more than 1.8 million children who have crossed into neighboring countries as refugees, and 2.5 million children who are also internally displaced in Ukraine, the statement said.
The statement added that 78 children have been killed and 105 injured in Ukraine since the invasion began more than a month ago, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
However, these numbers represent those the UN has been able to confirm, and the actual toll is expected to be higher, the statement said.
“It’s mind-boggling,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told DailyExpertNews earlier this week. “Since the start of the war a month ago, one in two of all boys and girls in the country have now had to flee their homes.
“It’s a situation that we haven’t seen before, not in living memory, and it’s almost impossible to deal with.”
Elder said UNICEF is trying to provide blankets, water purification tablets, generators, medical supplies and obstetric kits for mothers giving birth in the country.
“Unless the war stops, unless the indiscriminate attacks stop, we will see more children being ripped from their homes and the bombing,” he added.
