Ukrainian orphans wait for a flight to the United Kingdom at Chopin airport, in Warsaw, Poland
(Picture: AP)Nearly five million Ukrainian children have been forced to flee their homes since Russia’s invasion began and half of those who remain are at risk of hunger, Unicef has warned.
Manuel Fontaine, the emergency programmes director, said that the deaths of 142 children killed mostly by crossfire or explosives had also been confirmed.
But he said the true total was “almost certainly much higher” as he warned of the desperate plight of Ukraine’s youngsters.
Describing how 4.8 million have fled so far out of the country’s 7.5 million children, he said: “In just six weeks, nearly two-thirds of all Ukrainian children have been displaced.
“They have been forced to leave everything behind: their homes, their schools, and often their family members.”
Mr Fontaine, who was speaking at the UN security council in New York, added that some children fleeing without their parents were at risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.
The fate of children trying to escape who have been “exposed to violence for longer and may have fewer resources at their disposal” was another concern.
Mr Fontaine said that those who remained in their homes were at risk due to food shortages and unexploded munitions on the ground.
“Of the 3.2 million children estimated to have remained in their homes, nearly half may be at risk of not having enough food,” he said.
“Every day the war continues, children will continue to suffer. It is time to end this war. Ukraine’s children cannot afford to wait.”
