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Unicef/file photo
About 5.2 million Ukrainian childrenThey need humanitarian aid due to the impact of the war in the country, unleashed a hundred days ago, as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday, highlighting that almost two one in three children in the country have been displaced by the fighting.
UNICEF has indicated that three million children in Ukraine and more than 2.2 million children in countries hosting refugees they need help because of the conflict, which has also caused two children to die and three to be injured every day, mainly due to attacks with explosive weapons against populated areas.
Likewise, at least 256 health facilities and one in six ‘safe schools’ supported by UNICEF in the east of the country, like hundreds of educational centers in the rest of the territory, has suffered damage due to the war, which has caused conditions for children in the east and south are “increasingly desperate”.
“June 1 is the International Day for the Protection of Children in Ukraine and throughout the region,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Instead of marking the occasion, we solemnly approach the hundredth day of a war that has shattered the lives of millions of children. Without an urgent ceasefire and a negotiated peace, children will continue to suffer and the consequences of war will affect vulnerable children around the world”, he added.
Viacheslav, 18, has recounted in statements to the agency that his mother died after his death. due to the impact of two mortar shells near her house in the Donetsk region (east). “He died in my hands & quot ;, he has said, before adding that one of the projectiles fell & oacute; “a few steps” where they were.
“When I opened the my eyes saw my mother lying on her side. His last words were ‘I’m fine’, said Viacheslav, who has been left in charge of two younger sisters and two younger brothers. “When I entered at home they understood everything. They understood everything. Nicole asked me if she had any chance that she was still alive. She did my best & quot ;, she has added.
UNICEF has highlighted that the children managed to move to a safe place in the western part of Ukraine. “I want them to have the future that they are so motivated for. I know What will I do? everything to achieve it”, Viacheslav has stated.
Anastasia, 24, had to flee the city of Berdyansk with her partner, Igor, 34, and their two children, ages one and three. “We don’t tell our children that there is a war. Our children don’t know. We tell them that we are on a trip to the mountains or that we are going to visit relatives, but all the way one of them shouted: ‘I don’t want, I don’t want to go to the mountains. , she recounted.
Anastasia and her partner arrived at the home of a relative in the east of the country after five days of traveling through conflict zones. “It was a relief when we arrived, but then we started dealing with problems at home,” he stressed.
“The room is clean. It’s cold and we need our children to be warm. There is no hot water and no place to wash, so we have a big tub in which we and our children bathe. The only bathroom is outside”, she indicated.
“I am very proud of my children. They endured the trip very well. We were very worried, we did not expect it to take so long. God only knows what we’ve been through. It was very uncomfortable, but they did it very well”, Anastasia pointed out.
Artem, nine years old and who now lives in a basement in Kharkov (east), has explained that the place “is safer” than his own. because “it’s dangerous outside because a missile could hit them and there would be nowhere to hide.”
“For example, if you stay at home, glass can fall from a window. If you sit near the glass it can do you a lot of damage”, he argued, before adding that in the basement “he does his homework”. Because of the impossibility of going outside due to the danger.
“At first I thought that everything would last two or three days, stuck for a week i realized it would be a while longer. we carry here about two and a half months, said Artem, who lives with his parents and his sisters.
The boy has emphasized that “war offends him.” “I want to go home now, it is not interesting to be here. caught. There is one hope, which is that the war will end soon, everything will be fine. well, let there be peace and we can play with friends and see them at school & quot ;, he has pointed out.
In this regard, UNICEF has emphasized in which the war has caused an “acute child protection crisis”, including that children fleeing violence are at “significant” risk. family separation, violence, abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking in human beings. In addition, most of them have been exposed to profoundly traumatic events and need safety, stability, child protective services, and psychosocial support.
The organization has also warned that the war and the conditions of displacement are undermining the means of subsistence, leaving families without sufficient income to satisfy their basic needs, which is why it has reiterated its call for a halt immediate fire and full humanitarian access to help people in need.
UNICEF has made it a point that the organization and its partners have delivered health and medical supplies to nearly 2.1 They have helped millions of people in war-affected areas, while providing psychosocial support to more than 610,000 children and caregivers and delivering learning materials to nearly 290,000 children. In addition, almost 300,000 vulnerable families have signed up for the joint humanitarian cash aid program of UNICEF and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.
The agency has appealed for 624 US$0.2 million (approximately €579 million) to fund its humanitarian response inside Ukraine, and an appeal for a further US$324.7 million (approximately €300 million) for its response in the refugee host countries.