UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell's remarks at the United Nations Security Council meeting on the maintenance of peace and security in Ukraine

NEW YORK, December 4, 2024 - Excellencies. Thank you Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield for bringing us together to speak about the consequences of the war in Ukraine on the lives of children, their families, and communities.

Last month, the escalation of the war in Ukraine passed the 1,000-day mark.

The UN has verified that at least 2,406 children have been killed or injured since February 2022 –an average of two children every day.

Behind every number is a child with a name, a life story and loved ones, whose hopes and dreams have been shattered.

These are the UN-verified numbers only – we know that the true figure is far higher.

More and more children are directly caught in the conflict. The UN verified more child casualties during the first nine months of 2024 than we did during all of 2023.

That is the true cost of a war. But it does not end there.

The scale of displacement is staggering. Nearly 3.6 million people are displaced inside Ukraine, and almost twice as many - 6.7 million people - have become refugees.  

In Ukraine, the war is upending the lives of children. It has forced many families and children to a life underground because of the continual risk of attacks.

Children spend up to six hours every day sheltering in basements and other damp, dark spaces under blaring air raid sirens, fearing for their lives.

Over the past one thousand days, almost 1,500 educational institutions and more than 660 health facilities have been damaged or destroyed.

In cities such as Kharkiv classrooms and playgrounds have been replaced with underground, makeshift schools, some of them in metro stations.  

With the onset of winter, children are exposed to freezing temperatures.

This has been made worse by attacks on energy infrastructure, which have multiplied over the past months and reduced the country’s electricity capacity to just half of what is required for the winter months.

Some parts of Ukraine are experiencing power outages for 18 hours a day.  As a result, many children in Ukraine are left without essentials such as heating, safe water and sanitation.

The impact of war is taking a terrible toll on children’s mental health and robbing them of their childhood.

Children are impacted by the constant threat and fear of attacks or violence, the loss of loved ones, the separation of families due to displacement, and the disruption of education – including isolation due to long-term online learning.

The consequences of such trauma can be devastating and have a long-lasting impact on children’s mental health.  

One assessment found that a third of parents reported their children exhibiting signs of mental distress. With every passing day of war, more and more children will suffer, while facing the risk of life-long mental health consequences.

UNICEF and partners are working tirelessly to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of children and families in Ukraine, including access to safe water, education, and psycho-social support.

This year, UNICEF and partners have supported access to drinking water for 5.1 million people in Ukraine and provided mental health and psycho-social support services to more than 630,000 children, adolescents and caregivers.

We are working with municipalities to keep heating systems going throughout the winter, and working to keep schools open and safe. In 2024, we supported the access of more than 450,000 children to education.

We are doing our utmost to protect children, and to ensure that children understand how to protect themselves from landmines and explosive remnants of war, which contaminate one quarter of the country.

But much more is needed to address the suffering of children and families.

We again call for the support of Members of this Security Council, and the parties to this conflict to take immediate steps to protect children caught in this nightmare.

First, all parties to the conflict must abide by international humanitarian law and human rights law and end grave violations against children. Attacks on energy infrastructure and the civilian infrastructure which supports children, such as health facilities and schools, must immediately cease.

Second, parties must refrain from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Parties must also refrain from the use of landmines and other weapons, like cluster munitions, which are inherently indiscriminate, and which have a disproportionate impact on children.

Eastern Ukraine was already one of the world’s most mine-contaminated stretches of land even prior to the recent escalation – a reality which now has extended to other parts of the country. 

Third, UNICEF remains deeply concerned about the number of children who have been separated from their families. We urge parties to prioritize family tracing and reunification, and refrain from taking any actions that would alter a child’s nationality or make it more difficult for them to be reunified. All parties and all stakeholders must focus on solutions that are in the best interest of the individual child.

UNICEF continues to offer our support for the return and reintegration of all children in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

And finally, the United Nations and partners should have safe and unfettered humanitarian access to all children and families in Ukraine who need aid or protection services, including in non-government-controlled areas.  

We appreciate the generous support of Member States in funding the humanitarian response and call on them to continue providing the necessary resources to address both the immediate needs of Ukraine’s children and what they will need to recover. Investment in the future of children is fundamental.  

Humanitarian efforts, while vital, cannot be a substitute for a political solution to end the war and suffering.

Children are depending on this Council to provide solutions. We cannot and we must not let them down. 

Thank you.