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UN PhotoUNICEF / UKRAINE CHILDREN KILLED
STORY: UNICEF / UKRAINE CHILDREN KILLED
TRT: 3:35
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN / EMBARGOED TILL 00:01 GMT, 26 April 2024
LANGUAGE: NATS
DATELINE: PLEASE CHECK SHOTLIST FOR DETAILS
16 MARCH 2024, IZIUM, KHARKIV REGION
1. Various shots, destructions along the street
23 FEBRUARY 2024, KRIVIY RIH
2. Various shots, damaged buildings along the street
21 FEBRUARY 2024, KHARKIV
3. Various shots, memorials with toys
4. Various shots, destructions
16 MARCH 2024, IZIUM, KHARKIV REGION
5. Various shots, warning sign in front of damaged house
26 MARCH 2024, IZIUM, KHARKIV REGION
6. Various shots, a person with crutches walking inside a house
28 OCTOBER 2023, IZIUM, KHARKIV REGION
7. Various shots, children at a damaged house
20 NOVEMBER 2023, IZIUM, KHARKIV REGION
8. Med shot, a child looking into camera
23 FEBRUARY 2024, KRIVIY RIH
9. Med shot, a child in pink jacket looking into camera
27 APRIL 2023, KYIV
10.Med shot, a woman talking to a child
14 FEBRUARY 2024, TARASIVKA, KYIV REGION
11.Various shots, children in school
The verified number of children killed in attacks across Ukraine has increased by nearly 40 per cent this year compared to last, as deadly attacks continue, UNICEF warned.
Attacks between 1 January and 31 March 2024 resulted in the deaths of 25 children, according to UN-verified data - the youngest was just two months old. Nine children were reportedly killed in attacks during the first three weeks of April.
“As deadly attacks continue, children and their families are forced to endure yet more loss and destruction,” said Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, as she concluded a visit to Ukraine this week. “Every attack sets back recovery and rebuilding efforts, prolonging the deterioration in children’s quality of life. I am troubled to see that attacks across the country continue, destroying schools, health facilities and residential buildings. Nowhere is safe for children.”
According to official UN data, at least 600 children have been killed in attacks since the escalation of the war in 2022. More than 1,350 children have been injured. The true number of children killed and injured is likely considerably higher.
The infrastructure that children rely on also continues to come under attack. Thousands of homes, 36 health facilities and 140 educational facilities were damaged or destroyed in the first three months of the year. Attacks affecting power supplies and water sources have further disrupted critical services, putting children’s lives and well-being at further risk.
Two years of war preceded by two years of COVID-19 has meant children’s access to schooling has been disrupted for more than four years – years equivalent to a primary education. Nearly half of children enrolled in school in Ukraine are missing out on in-person schooling, with almost one million children across the country not able to access any in-person learning at all due to insecurity.
Amid ongoing attacks, UNICEF is working across Ukraine to preserve learning opportunities for children through rehabilitating schools and shelters, providing at-home learning kits and online learning support. In 2023, UNICEF reached 1.3 million children with formal and non-formal learning.
UNICEF is also delivering mental health and psychosocial support including through safe spaces, protection and support hubs, reaching 2.5 million children and caregivers last year alone.
Together with partners, UNICEF is rebuilding critical water and health infrastructure destroyed or damaged by attacks.
