© OCHA/V. Andrievskaya July has become the deadliest month for Ukrainian children since April 2022. Ukraine: UNICEF records sharp rise in child deaths Peace and Security
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), at least 16 people were killed and more than 140, including 23 children, were injured as a result of the August 21 Russian military strike on a shopping center in Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk region of Ukraine.
Another attack on Nikolaev on the same day reportedly resulted in the deaths of three children, amid an overall level of child casualties not seen in more than four years.
The attacks followed July, which was the deadliest month for children in Ukraine since April 2022. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission, 17 children were killed and 166 injured in July – a 49 percent increase from the previous month. Schools and hospitals are being hit. Too many young lives have been cut short or changed forever. This is unacceptable. Children need a peaceful life,” said UNICEF Representative for Ukraine Anne-Claire Dufay.
Since the escalation of the war in February 2022, the UN has confirmed that 3,946 children have been killed or injured, with the real number likely higher. UNICEF and partners are providing emergency assistance to children and families affected by war, including mental health support and psychosocial support, and restoring shelters in schools so that children can continue in-person learning as the school year begins.
The UN Children’s Fund reiterated its call for a halt to attacks that kill and injure children, and for full compliance with international humanitarian law, including the protection of children and the civilian infrastructure from which they depend.