Putin’s War on Ukrainian Children

Children are victims in every armed conflict. This is a given. According to reports, Ukraine is not an exception. After Putin unleashed an attack on Ukraine, without any provocation and any credible justification, news of indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and among them children, started circulating international news. Indeed, over the last three weeks, we have been observing how children are caught up in the violence and are being targeted in this war. Tens and tens of children have been reportedly killed and even more injured. As UNICEF warns, in less than three weeks, more than 1 million children have fled Ukraine. Most have fled with their families to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Romania.

Children in Ukraine

Millions of children remain in Ukraine and their future is uncertain. Reportedly, most are now being internally displaced and evacuated to the east, rather than abroad. As Russian attacks continue, children in Ukraine are at risk of injury or death.

Mariupol, Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv continue to be under attack with the shelling of residential areas and civilian infrastructure. This has resulted in an increasing number of civilians killed and injured. As of March 11, 2022, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 1,546 civilian casualties, including 564 killed and 982 injured, since the start of the Russian war. However, highly likely, the numbers are much higher and continue to rise every day. Children are among civilian causalities. As of March 10, the World Health Organization verified 26 attacks on health facilities, health workers and ambulances. These attacks resulted in 12 deaths and 34 injuries. This includes the bombing of the Mariupol maternity hospital on March 9, 2022. Among the causalities were a woman and her unborn child. Commenting on this indiscriminate attack, President Zelensky asked: “A children’s hospital, a maternity ward. How did they threaten the Russian Federation? What is this country, the Russian Federation, that is afraid of hospitals, maternity wards and is destroying them? Were there little Banderovites? Were pregnant women going to shoot on Rostov? Did anyone in the maternity ward humiliate Russian speakers? Or was it de-Nazification of a hospital?” As Putin continues to perpetrate indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, no child in the country is safe.

According to Save the Children, an international non-governmental organization, among the millions of children still in Ukraine there are up to 100,000 orphans housed in close to 700 children’s homes. Half of them is said to be disabled. These children are at increased risk of exploitation, abuse, neglect and trafficking. Only a few thousand orphaned children have been evacuated so far. There are concerns that these children will be left behind.

The Risk of Trafficking

The number of refugees fleeing violence in Ukraine has reached 2.5 million. Among them, there are over 1 million children. The people fleeing Ukraine to neighboring countries have met with generous assistance. However, leaving Ukraine does not always mean safety. Reportedly, among others, traffickers are targeting parentless children on the borders. Thousands of orphaned children are unaccounted for at this moment. Ylva Johansson, the E.U. Commissioner for Home Affairs, warned that: “We have some reports of criminals taking orphans from orphanages in Ukraine, crossing the border pretending that they are relatives to the child and then using them for trafficking purposes.” Armed conflicts are a breeding ground for traffickers.

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups during this Putin’s war on Ukraine. While all children in Ukraine require assistance, what is even more needed is for Putin to stop the war now. As long as hostilities continue, the risk of injury and death for all children in Ukraine is high and there is no place they could be safe. States and international bodies must stand united in calling for the end of the war and assistance to all survivors.