The UN has released a new report on the large-scale consequences of the war for millions of children in Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has been mercilessly crippling children’s destinies for more than three years in a row. The Russian Federation brought suffering to the Ukrainian land that cannot be measured by any numbers or reports. Ukrainian children are born and grow up to the sounds of sirens, learn to survive under shelling, grow up in cold basements and evacuation buses, say goodbye to their parents not at airports, but at graves. They are forced to overcome challenges that are beyond the power of even adults. Separation from families, losses, injuries, destruction of homes and schools became a harsh present for them. For many of these children, the war is the only reality they remember. It is about them – children of war – it is said in a new report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
This document states the profound and large-scale consequences of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine for millions of Ukrainian children. As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, emphasized, the ongoing hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, as well as the Russian occupation of part of the Ukrainian lands, have led to unprecedented violations of human rights and caused immense suffering to children. They lost the opportunity to live in safety, to study, to see their relatives next to them. Violations of rights affected all spheres of children’s lives, leaving deep, often incurable physical and psychological wounds.
According to confirmed UN data, in the period from February 24, 2022 to December 31, 2024, 669 children died as a result of the war in Ukraine, and another 1,833 were injured. Most of the injured are victims of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. On the territory controlled by Ukraine, 521 children died, another 1,529 were injured. At the same time, 148 children were killed and 304 were injured in the lands temporarily occupied by Russia. The authors of the report emphasize that the real number of dead and wounded is much higher.
The war left a deadly legacy of landmines and unexploded ordnance. Huge areas of Ukraine are currently mined, creating a constant threat to the lives and health of children.
The report paid special attention to children who lost their homes due to the war. As of December 2024, about 737,000 Ukrainian children have become internally displaced persons. Another 1.7 million became refugees outside the country, most of them lost contact with one of their parents, mostly with the father who stayed to defend Ukraine.
According to the UN, the situation in the temporarily occupied territories remains particularly dangerous. From the first months of the invasion, Russian forces used force against the civilian population, including children. Cases of violence and ill-treatment were recorded.
During the first year of the war, the UN confirmed that at least 200 Ukrainian children, most of whom were brought up in residential institutions, were forcibly moved to the occupied territories or deep into the Russian Federation. These actions can be qualified as war crimes. At the same time, due to the lack of access to the occupied territories and Russia, it is impossible to assess the true scale of forced displacements.
The Russian occupation of four Ukrainian regions, which took place at the end of 2022, brought with it not only direct threats, but also a systematic attempt to destroy the Ukrainian identity of children. Russia has grossly violated international law by introducing its own laws and administrative system in the occupied lands, which directly affect children. Ukrainian children are forced to accept Russian citizenship, they are taught according to Russian programs, access to the Ukrainian language and culture is almost completely restricted. The Russian authorities have prioritized the so-called military-patriotic education, which in reality is nothing more than state propaganda for war.
According to the report, during the war at least 1,614 educational institutions in Ukraine were destroyed or seriously damaged as a result of shelling and attacks. In the conditions of constant threat, the government of Ukraine was forced to take unprecedented measures – face-to-face education is allowed only in those schools where there are protective shelters. A large part of Ukrainian children learn remotely. But even online learning is constantly interrupted — by alarms, bombings or power outages caused by Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. Often this leads to a complete suspension of the educational process for an indefinite period of time.
The UN states that three years of war have dealt a significant blow to the education system, which is already negatively affecting the level of knowledge of Ukrainian children. This will have long-term consequences — a decrease in the chances of getting a quality education, a profession, and fulfilling oneself in adult life.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, emphasized that all Ukrainian children — whether those who became refugees in Europe, or those who remained in Ukraine and live under the constant threat of bombing, or those who found themselves under the coercive laws of the occupiers — became victims of the war. And every children’s story is a consequence of criminal aggression.
He emphasized that the world is obliged to recognize the scale of violations, eliminate their causes and ensure a future in which every Ukrainian child can restore their rights, preserve their identity and live in safety – without fear, without war, without occupation.
