More than 2,400 children have been killed or injured since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to UNICEF

MADRID Dec. 5 () –

At least 2,406 children have been killed or injured by the war in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, meaning that, on average, two children are killed or injured every day, according to the United Nations Fund. for Children (UNICEF).

“The UN has verified that at least 2,406 children have died or been injured since February 2022, an average of two children a day. We know that the real number is much higher,” its executive director, Catherine Russell, reported this Wednesday during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

Russell has warned that the situation has only worsened during the thousand days that the conflict has been ongoing: “the UN verified more child victims during the first nine months of 2024 than during all of 2023.”

The continued attacks forced many Ukrainian families to live underground, disrupting the lives of children, who may become “even forced many Ukrainian families to live underground.”

In addition, the bombings have damaged or destroyed “close to 1,500 educational institutions and more than 660 health facilities” and numerous energy infrastructures, thereby reducing the country’s electrical capacity to “only half of what is necessary for the winter months” and causing Power cuts of up to “18 hours a day” in some areas.

On the other hand, the director of UNICEF has emphasized the mental health of children, affected by “the constant threat and fear of attacks or violence, the loss of loved ones, the separation of families due to displacement “. According to a study, one in three parents says their children show “signs of mental distress.”

Russell has highlighted the UN agency’s work to meet the “immediate humanitarian needs” of children in Ukraine, providing psychosocial support to more than 630,000 children and caregivers and facilitating access to education for more than 450,000 children.

“We ask again for the support of the members of this Security Council, and for the parties to this conflict to take immediate measures to protect the children trapped in this nightmare,” claimed the head of UNICEF.

In particular, it has urged “all parties” to the conflict to abide by International Humanitarian Law, end “violations against children” and “immediately” cease attacks on energy and civil infrastructure such as health centers and schools. Likewise, he has asked that they refrain from using “explosive weapons in populated areas, land mines and cluster munitions” that have a “disproportionate” impact on children.

On the other hand, Russell has shown his “deep concern” about the separation of children from their families, asking the parties to make efforts to “locate and reunify families” and to avoid taking measures that “could alter the nationality of a child or hinder their reunification.

“Behind every number is a child with a name, a life story and loved ones, whose hopes and dreams have been destroyed,” he noted.