Situation in Ukraine worsening for children, UNICEF warns

The situation in Ukraine is worsening for children, with a 50 percent increase in child casualties in 2024 compared to 2023, UNICEF has warned, as the country's war with Russia enters its fourth year.

Three years into the full-scale conflict, more than 2,520 children have been killed or injured, according to UN-verified numbers, though the real toll is likely much higher, UNICEF's chief of advocacy and communication for Ukraine, Toby Fricker, said on Friday during a UN press briefing in Geneva.

"No place is safe," Fricker stressed.

He added that schools, maternity wards, and children's hospitals have all come under attack, with UN-verified data showing that 780 health facilities and more than 1,600 schools have been damaged or destroyed.

Fricker said that a staggering one in five children in Ukraine has lost a close relative or friend since the war escalated three years ago, while one in three of them has reported feeling so hopeless and sad that they cannot carry out their usual activities, according to a UNICEF-led survey released on Friday.

"These are the responses of more than 23,000 children who took part in the survey and are a blunt reminder of the loss and grief that pervades childhood in Ukraine," he said.

Humanitarian needs 'remain acute'

As Ukraine approaches the fourth year of the war, the UN humanitarian office stressed on Friday that the humanitarian needs "remain acute" in the country.

"Going into the fourth year of the war, the humanitarian needs remain acute. Every single day, civilians are being killed and injured, homes and schools destroyed, and livelihoods shattered," Matthias Schmale, the UN's assistant secretary-general, resident and humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine, told a UN briefing in Geneva.

Underlining that 12.7 million people — 36 percent of the population — require urgent humanitarian aid in 2025, he warned of worsening conditions due to harsh winter weather and ongoing attacks on key infrastructure.

"Winter makes everything more dangerous. Attacks on energy infrastructure risk leaving hospitals and homes without electricity and heating during the coldest months," he said.

Schmale stressed the need for continued global support, warning that Ukraine's crisis risks being overlooked.

The UN requires $2.6 billion in 2025 to assist six million people. "Every contribution matters," he said.