12:43 01.04.2015

Forty-two children killed by mines in Donbas over past year – UNICEF

2 min read
Forty-two children killed by mines in Donbas over past year – UNICEF

At least 109 children have been injured and 42 have been killed by landmines and unexploded ordnances in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since March 2014, according to a UNICEF report

"The number of children killed and maimed by mines and unexploded ordnances would be significantly higher if we include non-government controlled areas," the UNICEF website quotes Marie-Pierre Poirier, the organization's regional director for Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS, as saying after she visited eastern Ukraine.

The lack of access to these areas is "a real challenge for humanitarian workers on the ground," she said.

According to the report, children are particularly at risk as unexploded ordnances and landmines may be brightly colored and small enough to pick up or play with. Children could be drawn to such items, mistaking them for toys or objects of value, which can result in tragedy.

"UNICEF and its partners have launched a mine-risk education campaign in crisis-affected areas of Ukraine to provide 500,000 children and their families with lifesaving information about the risks posed by landmines and explosives. The campaign includes risk educational messages in print, video and digital formats as well as the training of 100 teachers and school psychologists on mine-risk awareness," reads the statement.

According to UNICEF, at least 5 million people have been affected by the crisis in eastern Ukraine, including 1.7 million children, while more than 1.1 million people have been internally displaced because of the ongoing violence.

UNICEF has appealing for US$55.8 million to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of children and their families.

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