Deadly attacks affecting children in Ukraine a tragic reminder that nowhere is safe

“I’m horrified by reports of yet another attack devastating children’s lives, this time injuring at least 17 children and damaging a school this afternoon in Sumy, north-eastern Ukraine. 

“This comes on the back of a deadly seven days, during which two children were reportedly killed and at least another sixteen injured. 

“In Kyiv, an attack on the night of 22 March reportedly killed five-year-old Nikol, along with her father, when their home was hit. Her mother is reported to have survived and is recovering from serious injuries in hospital.

“According to a relative, the family sought safety in the capital after fleeing their home in the frontline town of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia region. But as the last seven days – and more than three years – have shown, nowhere in Ukraine is fully safe.

“In the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, a 17-year-old girl and her parents were reportedly killed in an attack on 21 March, leaving her elder sister as the only surviving member of the family.

“This is the horrific reality for children and people across Ukraine today. 

“Children go to bed fearing the looming threat of nighttime attacks that often last for hours. They are woken by the jarring sound of air raid sirens and forced to run for shelter before explosions shake their neighbourhoods and homes. 

“This dreadful nightly cycle has inflicted extreme stress and anxiety on every child. In frontline areas, children often have no time or just a few seconds to seek safety. 

“More than 2,500 children have been killed or injured since February 2022, according to UN-verified data, and millions of young lives have been upended. 

“Ukraine’s children have suffered for far too long. 

“Every day this war continues, more young lives are ended and devastated. Every day this war continues, children experience repeated trauma.  

“Children in Ukraine need a real and sustained peace in which every child can realize their rights.” 

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UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, especially the most disadvantaged children and in the toughest places to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive, and fulfil their potential.