10 mn fled home, 1.5 mn kids displaced since Russia’s war on Ukraine: UN

At least 1.5 million children have become refugees during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, UNICEF spokesperson Joe English told CNN on Sunday.

Furthermore, about 3.3 million minors are currently displaced within war-hit Ukraine, according to English. 

“Each of these is an individual child whose life has been torn apart, whose world has been turned upside down,” the UNICEF spokesperson said.

According to the UN agency, at least 150 children have died and 160 have been injured since the invasion in late February. 

According to the UN, ten million Ukrainians have fled their homes in the country. 

“The war in Ukraine is leading to massive displacement and refugee flows – conditions that could lead to a significant spike in human trafficking and an acute child protection crisis,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF’s regional director for Europe and Central Asia. 

“Displaced children are extremely vulnerable to being separated from their families, exploited and trafficked. They need governments in the region to step up and put measures in place to keep them safe,” Khan added. 

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“Children fleeing the war in Ukraine need to be screened for their vulnerability as they cross into a neighbouring country. Every effort should be made to strengthen screening processes at refugee border crossings,” Khan concluded. 

Russia’s fury continues to collapse life and property in Ukraine. On Sunday, Ukrainian authorities reported that the Russian army bombarded an art school in the port city of Mariupol where hundreds of people had taken refuge. 

Earlier this week, Russian forces bombed a theatre in Mariupol that acted as a shelter for war refugees. According to the city’s officials, 130 people were rescued from the wreck, with several stuck under the debris.

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“To do this to a peaceful city, what the occupiers did, is a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to the country.