More than 500 children killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded: UN
At least 501 children have been confirmed killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to the latest data compiled by the United Nations.
A damaged residential building is seen as an emergency rescue team inspect the site after Russia conducted a drone attack in the town of Rzhyshiv, Kyiv region, northern Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. PAP/Abaca/AA/ABACA
The tragic milestone was announced by Save the Children, the London-based international NGO, on Monday.
Children’s death toll in Ukraine passes 500
The organisation said: “The number of children confirmed killed in Ukraine has passed 500 after more than 13 months of full-scale war.”
Save the Children added: “Since February 2022, at least one child has been killed every day in Ukraine, according to Save the Children’s analysis of verified UN data.”
It announced that “As of April 2, at least 501 children have been killed and 991 have been injured in hostilities, most of whom are 12 or older.”
“The actual numbers, though, are feared to be significantly higher,” Save the Children stressed.
According to the latest figures, “Explosive weapons with wide area effect are the predominant cause of children’s casualties in Ukraine.”
‘War is the worst enemy of children’
Catherine Russell, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, commented: “This is another tragic milestone for Ukraine’s children and families.”
Russell stressed that the figure of at least 501 children confirmed killed since the Russian invasion in February 2022, “is just the UN-verified number.”
She added: “The real figure is likely far higher, and the toll on families affected is unimaginable.”
The UNICEF chief noted that almost a further 1,000 children have been injured, “leaving them with wounds and scars – both visible and invisible – that could last for life.”
She said that “Children and families in Ukraine are paying the highest price for this brutal war,” with every number representing “a family torn apart and changed for ever.”
Russell stated: “War is always the worst enemy of children, whether in Ukraine, or countless other conflicts around the world. Every child, no matter where they live, deserves to grow up in a peaceful environment,” as quoted by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
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Source: Save the Children, The Guardian, UN OHCHR Ukraine
