At least 17 children have been killed as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine so far.
The conflict, now in its second week, is exacting a harrowing toll on children, UNICEF warned today.
“The use of explosive weapons in cities could quickly turn this crisis into a catastrophe for Ukraine’s children,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia.
“There are no armed operations of this scale that do not result in children being harmed. The consequences will be tragic.”
Since February 24, the outbreak of the war, , 17 children have been killed and 30 have been injured. These are only the reports that the United Nations has been able to verify – the true number of child casualties is likely far higher.
Hundreds of homes have been damaged or destroyed, and there are reports of schools, orphanages and health centres sustaining heavy damage.
“UNICEF is on the ground, doing its best to meet children’s basic needs, but the only way out of the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine is for the conflict to end,” added Mr Khan.
The plea comes as hundreds of thousands of people are without safe drinking water because of damage to water system infrastructure and many have been cut off from access to other essential services like healthcare.
The country is running low on critical medical supplies and has had to halt urgent efforts to curb a polio outbreak.
Russia has taken one of Ukraine's major cities in their first major victory of the invasion.
For the last eight days, fighters and missiles have poured into the eastern European country as Vladimir Putin's plans to dominate hit a snag.
