MILLIONS of children in Ukraine are in grave danger while people with disabilities are at risk of being abandoned in institutions, charities have warned.
Thousands of families are already on the move in temperatures below freezing point.
There are 7.5 million children under the age of 18 in Ukraine and Save the Children said all of them are in “grave danger” of physical harm, severe emotional distress, and displacement following the Russian invasion.
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Explosions are forcing families into basements and bomb shelters where parents are trying to calm terrified children while thousands of others are fleeing their homes altogether.
In Eastern Ukraine, more than 400,000 children live in areas at high risk of the direct impact of the presence of soldiers and artillery, including being injured or killed by guns, landmines and explosive weapons, or being displaced from their homes.
At least 100,000 of these children and their families are already known to have left their homes since Monday, and are currently sheltering with friends, relatives and strangers, often in cramped conditions.
Children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable with at least 82,000 children segregated from society in Ukraine with “countless more” adults with disabilities permanently institutionalised, according to the European Disability Forum (EDF).
There are 2.7 million persons with disabilities registered in Ukraine and the forum said their current situation is “appalling”.
“For example, shelters in Kyiv are inaccessible so people with disabilities are forced to stay at home, not knowing where they can go to be safe,” said an EDF spokesperson. “Persons with disabilities living in institutions, already cut off from their communities, risk being abandoned and forgotten.”
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EDF is calling for all involved in the hostilities to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in Ukraine.
Save the Children said there should be an agreement for the immediate cessation of hostilities to reduce the risk to children’s lives and wellbeing.
“Ukraine’s children are caught in the crossfire of this adult war – it should never have come to this,” said Irina Saghoyan, Save the Children’s Eastern Europe Director.
“Our most immediate concern is the risk to their health and wellbeing – in conflict, everything is on the table – death, injury, sexual violence, protection risks. Children are terrified. They are hearing explosions, they are being asked to flee with just the clothes on their backs. The risk to their mental health and potential for long-term trauma cannot be under-estimated.
“We are also gravely concerned about displacement and the subsequent soaring humanitarian needs. Any family forced from their home needs help with shelter, food, clean water – the absolute basics. We are also at the end of winter, with temperatures regularly below zero.
“The thought that many of these children may be forced to find inadequate shelters in the instance of mass displacement is incredibly distressing.”
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