©UNICEF/UN0599215/Nicodim
June 1st is International Day for the Protection of Children in Ukraine and across the region.
Instead of celebrating, we announce with pain the approach of the 100th day of the war that has shattered the lives of millions of children.
The war has created a child protection emergency. Children forced to flee war are at significant risk of family separation, violence, abuse, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Most of them have experienced deeply traumatic events. These children urgently need security, stability, child protection services and psychosocial support, especially those who are unaccompanied or separated from their families.
According to reports verified by OHCHR, on average more than two children are killed and more than four are injured daily in Ukraine, mostly as a result of attacks with explosive weapons in populated areas. The civilian infrastructure on which children depend continues to be damaged or destroyed; this includes at least 256 health facilities in the east of the country so far, and hundreds of schools across the country have also been affected. Conditions for children in eastern and southern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified, are becoming increasingly desperate.
The school in Kharkiv that was destroyed by Russian missile strike on the night from June 1 to 2th
War and mass displacement are depriving many Ukrainian families of livelihoods and economic opportunities, leaving them vulnerable without sufficient income to meet basic needs and provide adequate support for their children.
