The Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Maryna Lazebna said that today a formal proposal had been sent to 23 countries through diplomatic channels to conclude bilateral memoranda on protection of the rights of displaced children from vulnerable categories and a draft memorandum as well.

One month into the war in Ukraine, millions of people, mainly women and children, continue to flee their homes. As long as the conflict continues, the risk of them being targeted by criminal networks grows.

In this press release the UN Child Rights Committee asked States to provide core and integrated support to traumatised Ukrainian children, especially those who are unaccompanied.

Conflict-related traumas can trigger "elevations in heart rate, breathing and stress hormones related to the fight or flight response. Repeat exposure to toxic stress in that way can affect the developing brain of children, and it has lifelong consequences for learning, behavior and health," says Theresa Betancourt, a professor at the Boston College School of Social Work and director of the Research Program on Children and Adversity.

The European Commission established the Solidarity Program which supports EU Member States and other States to share the responsibility of recieving refugees from Ukraine. The most vulnerable refugees will be prioritized for transfer, including people with disabilities, older people, those with severe medical conditions, and mothers with young children. Unaccompanied and separated children will only be transferred following best interest procedures and family tracing.

More than 500,000 people from Ukraine have fled to Romania since Feb. 24. Most have already moved further west, but just under 80,000 remain, primarily women with small children. They are acutely aware of the dangers they could face if they remain in Ukraine.

While most refugees, especially those from the Kyiv area, have flowed to Poland, an estimated 350,000 have entered Moldova, one of Europe's poorest countries.

There is a "huge risk" that Ukrainian children and women fleeing the war may fall victim to human trafficking, the European Union's Home Affairs Commissioner warned on Monday.

The Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Maryna Lazebna said that as of 19 March 2022, 4,894 children from 179 institutions of institutional care have been evacuated. Of these, 2,522 children were relocated within Ukraine, and 2,372 children from 116 institutions were relocated abroad.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Saturday announced that more than 1.5 million children have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24. The agency warned that the high number of child refugees comes with an increased risk of trafficking as traffickers look to take advantage of chaotic situations such as this.