Approximately 1.5 million children have
fled Ukraine since February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine and there are
concerns that they could become a victim of abuses, the UNICEF, the United
Nations’ children’s agency, warned in a statement.

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They are part of the 3-million strong exodus out of war-torn Ukraine into neighbouring countries as Russian forces continue to target cities and civilians.

“Countless others” are displaced inside the
country as the war wages on, the agency said in a Saturday news release.

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“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,” Khan continued. “They need governments in the region to
step up and put measures in place to keep them safe.”

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UNICEF said, between February 24 and March
7, they identified more than 500 parentless children crossing from Ukraine into
Romania. The overall figure of unaccompanied children spilling over
neighbouring borders is “likely much higher,” the statement added. More than 75,000 Ukrainian children have become refugees every single day, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said during a Tuesday press briefing in Geneva.

To heighten the protection of these
children, the UN and civil society partners have set up information hubs in
neighbouring countries such as Poland, identified as “Blue Dots” to provide
essential services for families.

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UNICEF also urged Ukraine’s neighbouring
countries to scale up screening of Ukrainian children at the border check-posts
and at key areas, such as train stations, where refugees pass through.

“In addition, UNICEF is calling on
governments to improve cross-border collaboration and knowledge exchange between
and among border control, law enforcement and child protection authorities and
to quickly identify separated children, implement family tracing and
reunification procedures for children deprived of parental care,” according to
the statement.