Russia-Ukraine war: 550 children killed or injured since Feb 24, says US embassy in Kyiv

As the Russia-Ukraine war has entered its 53rd day, the Embassy of the United States in Kyiv has confirmed that over 550 Ukrainian children have been killed or injured since the commencement of the Russian special military operation on Ukraine. Taking to Twitter, the US embassy further revealed that since February 24, Russian forces have bombed, shelled, raped, assaulted, killed, and deported several Ukrainians forcefully. 

Furthermore, this claim came at a time when Matti Maasikas, the chief of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Ukraine, has charged Russia with abducting Ukrainian children, labelling it "another cynical" and terrible violation of international humanitarian law. "After Ukraine's journalists, activists, local officials, other civilians, Russia has begun to abduct Ukrainian children," the EU envoy to Ukraine said on Twitter. 

Besides the kidnapping, EU envoy Maasikas said in a tweet that the so-called "adoption" of Ukrainian children by Russian families is another "cynical, appalling violation of International Humanitarian Law". He went on to say that Russia will be held accountable for its conduct. 

Moreover, according to Lyudmila Denisova, Ukraine's Ombudsman, around 130,000 children were forcibly transported to Russia. 

1,982 civilians have lost their lives and 2,651 injured since Feb 24: UN

In addition to this, the United Nations has reported that 1,982 civilians have lost their lives and 2,651 more have been wounded since Russia's military incursion in Ukraine. Because information from certain regions has been delayed and other reports are still awaiting confirmation, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) believes that the war's losses will be greater. It is worth noting that Mariupol in the Donetsk area, Izium in Kharkiv, Popasna in the Luhansk region, as well as Borodianka in Ukraine's capital Kyiv are all affected. 

In a statement, OHCHR asserted that most of the Ukrainians' deaths which have been documented were caused by the use of explosive arms within a large effective area, such as shelling from heavy artillery as well as multiple launch rocket systems, missile and airstrikes. Out of the total deceased, OHCHR estimates that 511 men, 323 women, 56 boys, 34 girls, and 72 children have been killed. Furthermore, the gender of 986 adults has yet to be determined, as per media reports.  

Since February 24, the two warring nations' fierce conflicts have forced over 4.7 million Ukrainians to flee to neighbouring countries to seek safety and security. As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Poland has accepted 2,720,622 Ukrainian refugees who fled the Russia-Ukraine war. 726,857 Ukrainians fled to Romania, while 419,499 have escaped to Moldova. 

(Image: AP)