UNICEF: More than 1 million children have already fled Ukraine

More than 1 million children have fled Ukraine in the two weeks since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, UNICEF, the United Nations’ agency for the interests of children, said. At least 37 children have been killed and 50 injured, UNICEF director Catherine Russell said Wednesday.

Russell said she was “horrified” by the Russian airstrike Wednesday on a children’s hospital in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, which was carried out despite an agreed ceasefire. “This attack, if confirmed, underscores the horrific toll this war is taking on Ukraine’s children and families,” Russell said.

On the first day of the war in Ukraine, UNICEF said tens of thousands of families should flee because of the military violence. More than 2 million people have already fled the country. The UN agency was particularly concerned about the fate of the 7.5 million children in Ukraine and called in vain for an immediate ceasefire.