KYIV, 8 March 2022 – An estimated 800,000 children had fled Ukraine in recent weeks, as the total number of refugees fleeing Ukraine reached 2 million people today. A growing number of these children are arriving on their own, without family support, in an escalating child protection crisis.
Reports from the border suggest that some children are arriving unaccompanied after being sent by family members who were unable to leave Ukraine but wanted their children to be safe from ground attack and aerial explosions. Others have been separated from their families in the chaos of fleeing their homes. Many of the solo arrivals are under 14 and showing signs of psychological distress.