Today is the World Day of War Orphans: how many Ukrainian children have lost their parents due to Russian aggression
Kyiv • UNN
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, about 8.5 thousand Ukrainian children have been left without parental care, and more than 1.5 thousand children have become orphans.
Today, on January 6, many countries are holding events on the occasion of the World Day of War Orphans, UNN reports.
The event was initiated by the French human rights organization SOS Enfants en Detresses. This day is intended to draw attention of the general public to the difficult fate and problems of children orphaned by active military conflicts.
Statistics show that more than 150 million children around the world have lost one or both parents to war.
One of the most important tasks of this event is also to help in the adoption of orphans who lost their families due to military operations.
According to various estimates, since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, about 8,500 Ukrainian children have been left without parental care, and more than 1,500 children have become orphans.
Another big problem is Ukrainian children who have been abducted by Russia from the occupied territories.
According to approximate official figures, Russia has taken 20,000 children from Ukraine. And these are only those recorded cases where parents, guardians or witnesses of a child's deportation reported it.
About 1.5 of the abducted minors are orphans.
More than 500 Ukrainian children have already been returned .