MOSCOW, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Children’s Rights Ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said Friday at least five children had lost their lives as a result of the extensive military operation in eastern Ukraine.
“We know about five confirmed cases of children being killed [in the military operation] in the southeast of Ukraine. But there are probably more. All of them are casualties of Ukraine’s aggression and inhumane policies,” the rights activist wrote Friday on his Instagram page.
The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported in early June that seven children had been injured in clashes in eastern Ukraine since May 9. The watchdog organization said the crisis was having an increasing impact on children and urged all parties to stop the violence.
Astakhov has said Russian orphanages are ready to accommodate children trapped in war zones in Ukraine.
Since mid-April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation in the east of Ukraine to suppress the pro-independence movement. The violence intensified after the people’s republics of Luhansk and Donetsk declared their independence from Ukraine after holding referendums on self-determination. Hundreds of people, including civilians, have died in both regions over the past months.
