UNICEF renews school protection call in Ukraine amid ‘deadly reality’ of attacks

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Continued Russian attacks across Ukraine this week made for a tragic start to the new school year, a senior official with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Friday. 

John Marks, interim UNICEF Representative in Ukraine, issued a renewed appeal for schools to be protected as war rages on.

“During the first week of the new academic year, educational facilities in areas including Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Kyiv, Lviv and Sumy were reportedly damaged in attacks,” he said.

“Evacuations across areas closer to the frontline are also ongoing with education once again disrupted as children flee their homes.”

Young lives cut short 

Mr. Marks’ statement centred around the deaths of three sisters. 

Seven-year-old Emilia, along with Dariia, 18, and Yaryna, 21, were killed with their mother in an attack in the western city of Lviv on 4 September. Their father was injured.

The family were among the many reported casualties, which included other children.

Mr. Marks said the three sisters were all just starting out in life.  

Although Emilia was present for the first days of school “tragically she didn’t make it back for the third day,” he said.

Oldest sister Yaryna had found a job with the organization Lviv – European Youth Capital 2025, after finishing school.  The organization is a UNICEF partner and works to empower young people through life skills training.

“This tragic story reflects the reality for children and young people across Ukraine today as attacks continue to hit populated areas,” he said.

Civilian deaths increase

Russian missile and bomb attacks since 26 August have caused extensive harm across the country, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Friday.

Investigators verified that attacks in Government-controlled areas killed 64 civilians, and injured 392, in addition to causing significant damage and destruction to civilian property and critical infrastructure.

The figures include children, six of whom were killed and 43 injured. 

The high casualty numbers follow a recent sharp increase in civilian deaths and injuries. In August alone, 184 people were killed, and 856 injured – the second highest monthly casualties this year, after July.

Electricity infrastructure targeted

Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU, noted that “targeted attacks on Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure have again triggered lengthy nationwide power cuts while recent attacks have destroyed or damaged hospitals, schools, supermarkets, and critical energy infrastructure.” 

HRMMU said that on 26 August, Russian armed forces launched one of the largest coordinated aerial attacks across Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Eight civilians were killed, and at least 23 were injured, while at least 25 energy facilities in 15 regions were damaged. 

Also, on 30 August, aerial bombs in four districts of Kharkiv city killed six civilians and injured at least 44. Kharkiv was again hit by multiple missiles the following day, killing a medical worker and injuring at least 11 civilians. 

Additionally, seven civilians died in the 4 September attack in Lviv which killed the three sisters and their mother. Another 62 people were injured, and three schools were also damaged. HRMMU said this was the first civilian casualty incident there since February 2024 

Russian-occupied areas

The UN investigators also recorded reports of civilian casualties in Russian-occupied territory and in Russia itself.  

For example, on 4 September, an attack struck a market in Donetsk city, killing four civilians, including two children, and injuring another seven people.

Another attack on Belgorod city in Russia on 30 August left five people dead and dozens injured, according to local reports, but HRMMU has not been able to verify the figures.

Education under fire

On Monday, UNICEF reported that the first day of school in Ukraine was marred by deadly and destructive attacks.

Children in the capital, Kyiv, woke up to loud explosions, with schools reportedly damaged.

Prior to the start of the academic year, educational facilities were damaged in the Kherson region and in the city of Sumy, where six children were injured, according to local authorities. 

Reports also indicate that a child was killed, and 29 others injured, in the deadly attacks in Kharkiv on 30 August and 1 September.

Lives lost, learning disrupted

Since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 2,180 children have been killed or injured, and more than 1,300 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed, UNICEF said, although the true numbers are likely higher.

Boys and girls are entering a fifth year of disrupted education, with the escalation of the war now in its third year following the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are showing signs of widespread learning loss.  

UNICEF said data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted in 2022 and released in late 2023, show that the scale of learning gaps seen in 2022 compared to 2018 is equivalent to two years of loss in reading and one year of loss in math. 

Protect education from attack

Mr. Marks recalled that 9 September will mark the fourth International Day to Protect Education from Attack. 

The Day was established by a unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly, calling on both the UN’s educational and cultural agency, UNESCO, and UNICEF to raise awareness of the situation of millions of children living in countries affected by conflict. 

“We use this moment to once again call for educational facilities to be protected from attack, for parties to refrain from the military use of educational facilities and for the right to education to be respected, upheld and enjoyed by children across Ukraine,” he said.

“Schools must be safe and provide nurturing learning environments for every child to develop and thrive.”

Children playing during a UNESCO-led summer camp in Ukraine

‘Children in Ukraine have suffered enough’

Meanwhile, UNICEF continues to work with the Ukrainian Government and partners to help keep children learning, to support their mental health, and to maintain some semblance of childhood.

Activities include rehabilitating shelters in schools and kindergartens, providing learning supplies and equipment, conducting remedial education classes, and equipping teachers with skills to provide mental health and psychosocial support to their students.

Additionally, transit centres and mobile teams of psychologists and social workers are also supporting children and families who are being evacuated from frontline areas, thus helping children to better cope and to resume their learning in new locations.

“Children in Ukraine have suffered enough; they must be protected from attacks,” said Mr. Marks.  “Like Emilia, they all just want to go to school, to learn, have fun and be children again.”