Russia’s war has killed 551 and injured another 1,401 Ukrainian children since 2022, said the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The most casualties have been recorded in Donetsk – 547, Kharkiv – 395, Kherson – 152, Dnipropetrovsk – 151, Kyiv – 130, Zaporizhzhia – 108, and Mykolaiv – 107 oblasts. The number of Russia’s victims is not final, as Ukrainian prosecutors still don’t have access to occupied territories and combat areas.
“More than 1,952 children have been affected in Ukraine as a result of the full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation. As of the morning of 26 June 2024, according to official information from juvenile prosecutors, 551 children have been killed, and more than 1,401 have sustained injuries of various degrees of severity,” the Prosecutor General’s statement reads.
On 23 June, two teenagers were injured in Russia’s attacks on Kharkiv. On the same day, two boys aged 10 and 13 were injured in Selydove, Donetsk region. On 24 June, as a result of Russian shelling in Druzhkivka and Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, three girls aged 9, 11, and 13 and two boys aged 12 and 16 were injured.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say that occupiers have deported 200,000 children to Russia. Ukraine has returned 800 children, Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in an interview with Channel 24.
According to the official, Ukrainian authorities are seeking information on Ukrainian children with Europol, European, and global institutions. She added that if the children are found abroad, outside of Russia, they are removed from the list of the missing.
Vereshchuk noted that international community sanctions should be toughened so that Russia realizes the consequences of its actions.
Earlier, the UN reported the surge in civilian casualties in Ukraine primarily due to intensified attacks in the Kharkiv Oblast. On 10 May, Russian forces opened a new front in the region, targeting Ukrainian villages, including Vovchansk and Lyptsi.
UN reports highest monthly civilian casualties rate in Ukraine for May 2024
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