Over 628,000 Children Affected by Russian Aggression in Ukraine since War Began
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, over 628,000 children have been affected by Russian aggression. According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office, as of February 14, 2023, 1,384 children were affected, with 461 killed and 923 injured of various degrees of severity.
In Donetsk Oblast, 444 children are affected; Kharkiv Oblast has 272; Kyiv Oblast has 123; Kherson Oblast, 87; Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 84; Mykolaiv Oblast, 83; Chernihiv Oblast, 68; Luhansk Oblast, 66; and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, 64.[0]
Furthermore, regular air strikes and shelling of civilian infrastructure and residential areas by the Russian armed forces damaged 3,126 educational institutions, of which 337 were completely destroyed.[0]
In addition, more than 14,000 Ukrainian children have been forcefully deported to Russia or its territories in a deliberate ploy to “destroy Ukrainian ethnicity”, according to charity warnings.[1] 307 Ukrainians have been brought back to their homeland by Ukraine.[0]
On February 13, 2023, a 14-year-old boy sustained injuries as a result of a Russian assault on the city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast.[0] The press service of the Ombudsman's Office said this in a Facebook post, referring to the ‘Children of War’ state portal for finding missing children, Ukrinform reports.[2] As of February 8, 2022: 337 children are considered missing, 16,168 – deported, 9,578 – found, 173 – returned.[3]
These figures are not definitive, as work continues in areas of conflict, in both occupied and liberated territories.[0] Nathaniel Raymond reported that the Yale report has confirmed that 37 Ukrainian kids have been reunited with their families.[4] He states that the thousands of people still in Russia could potentially be considered a war crime.[4]
0. “Russian occupiers kill 461 Ukrainian children and wound almost 1,000 more” Yahoo News Canada, 14 Feb. 2023, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/russian-occupiers-kill-461-ukrainian-112705941.html
1. “Horror as 14,000 Ukrainian children deported to Russia in sick ploy to ‘destroy ethnicity'” Express, 11 Feb. 2023, https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1733678/Ukraine-russia-war-putin-ukrainian-children-deported
2. “In Ukraine, 347 children considered missing due to Russian aggression” Ukrinform, 8 Feb. 2023, https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3667221-in-ukraine-347-children-considered-missing-due-to-russian-aggression.html
3. “In Ukraine, 347 Children Considered Missing Due To Russian A…” MENAFN.COM, 8 Feb. 2023, https://menafn.com/1105542302/In-Ukraine-347-Children-Considered-Missing-Due-To-Russian-Aggression
4. “A new report says Russia deports Ukrainian children, a possible war crime” NPR, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/02/14/1156500561/russia-ukraine-children-deportation-possible-war-crime-report
