Almost 1,800 Ukrainian children made orphans by Russia’s war
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to almost 1,800 Ukrainian children becoming orphans, the National Social Service of Ukraine said in a comment to the Kyiv Independent.
Russia's all-out war has taken a devastating toll on Ukraine’s children, with almost 600 children killed and over 1,200 injured across the country, according to the UN’s latest data.
Over 10,000 Ukrainian civilians have been reportedly killed since Feb. 24, 2022. The actual number of civilian casualties in Ukraine is likely to be significantly higher as it doesn’t fully account for the numbers in the Russian-occupied territories and front-line settlements.
Read also: How thousands of Ukrainian children cope with losing parents to war
Russia has also been conducting a campaign of mass deportations of Ukrainian children in violation of international law.
At least 19,500 children have been confirmed as abducted by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and less than 400 of them have been returned home, according to the Children of War database.
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has also reportedly destroyed or damaged one in seven schools in Ukraine and forced 1.6 million schoolchildren out of education.
According to a study published in February, over 20% of Ukrainian children study remotely, as only schools equipped with bomb shelters are allowed to operate offline.
The United Nations Children's Agency UNICEF estimated in February 2023 that around 1.5 million Ukrainian children were at risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health issues, with potential long-term effects and implications.
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