Washington: The United Nations has expressed grave concern over the fourth week of Russian occupation of Ukraine. A UNICEF spokesman said that one child per second became a refugee in Ukraine during the conflict. UNICEF said more than 70,000 children had become refugees every day during the past 20 days.
The United Nations estimates that more than three million people have fled their homeland and become refugees since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, including 1.4 million children.
Ukrainian authorities last week claimed that 79 children had been killed in a Russian attack. More than 100 people have been seriously injured.
The attacks in Kyiv, Harkiv, Sumi and Kherson have had a devastating effect on children. Three people, including a child, were killed last week in a Russian airstrike on a children’s hospital in Mariupol. 17 people were injured.
Meanwhile, Russian aggression in Ukraine is still reported to be intensifying. The Russian shelling of the main airport in the Nipro region caused extensive damage. Significant damage was done to the runway and terminal building.
As the shelling intensified, a 35-hour curfew was reportedly imposed in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The curfew will be from 8pm on Tuesday to 7am on Thursday, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said. Klitschko said it was forbidden to travel in the city without special permission except to go to bomb shelters.