More than one million children have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since the start of the Russian invasion nearly two weeks ago, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Wednesday.
At least 37 children have been killed and 50 were injured in the weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24., UNICEF's Catherine Russell said in a statement.
Russell said she was "horrified" by the reported attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Wednesday that wounded more than a dozen people, including women near childbirth, Ukrainian officials said, according to the Associated Press.
"I am horrified by the reported attack today on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine – an attack which reportedly left young children and women in labor buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings," Russell said.
"This attack, if confirmed, underscores the horrific toll this war is exacting on Ukraine’s children and families," she added. "In less than two weeks, at least 37 children have been killed and 50 injured, while more than 1 million children have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries."
