The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday reported that the prolonged hostilities and occupation of parts of Ukraine by the Russian Federation forces have caused large-scale human rights violations against children.

Between February 24, 2022 and December 31, 2024, the OHCHR documented 669 killings of children and 1,883 injuries. A total of 89 percent of the casualties were a result of the extensive use of explosive weapons in populated areas. 6 percent were caused by explosive remnants of war and mines, with the remaining five percent caused by other conflict-related situations. The report notes that the number of casualties is likely higher as the OHCHR was unable to verify casualties in regions controlled by the Russian forces.

The extensive use of exploitative weapons with wide area effects in populated areas has destroyed civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals, further limiting the children’s access to essential services such as education and medical care. Since February 2022, mines and explosive remnants of war have killed 30 children and injured 120, with boys accounting for over 80 percent of these casualties. An estimated 139,000 square kilometres of Ukraine are contaminated with landmines and explosive remnants of war, posing long-term risks to children’s lives and safety.

Furthermore, Russian authorities in the occupied regions have imposed Russian citizenship, restructured education systems and imposed Russian state curriculum with the goal of integrating occupied territory into the Russian educational and cultural spheres. These policies have suppressed the Ukrainian language and cultural identity, and discriminated against children based on their Ukrainian national and/or ethnic identity.

The extensive use of explosive weapons and implementation of discriminatory policies in the occupied regions amount to a violation of international law and international humanitarian law. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which both Ukraine and the Russian Federation are both parties, states must recognize that every child has the inherent right to life. States must thus take all feasible measures to ensure the protection and care of children affected by armed conflict.

According to the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law, parties to an armed conflict must distinguish between civilians and combatants and may not directly attack civilians. Schools and medical facilities are civilian objects and should not be the object of attack. Article 77 of the Additional Protocol I also states children shall be protected against any form of indecent assault and parties to the conflict shall provide them with the care and aid they require. The report further pointed out that the forced transfer and deportation of Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation breaches Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and amounts to war crimes.

The report calls on the Russian Federation to immediately and unconditionally cease the attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure and to respect Ukrainian children’s right to participate fully in the cultural life of their choosing. The report also calls on the international community to provide financial and technical assistance to establish support programs for children arriving in Ukrainian-controlled territory.