More than 5 million children need humanitarian aid amid Ukraine war: UNICEF

More than 5 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance as the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears close to 100 days of fighting, UNICEF said on Wednesday.

The United Nations agency’s number factors in more than 2.2 million children in refugee-hosting nations and 3 million children in Ukraine. 

UNICEF offered figures detailing the magnitude of the international conflict on children from Ukraine, including that on average each day in the country more than four children are injured and more than two are killed based on reporting verified by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The war has displaced nearly two-thirds of children in Ukraine, according to the U.N. agency.

Children fleeing violence face higher risks of sexual exploitation, family separation, trafficking, abuse and violence, according to UNICEF, which warned that the conflict “has caused an acute child protection crisis.”

The development comes as the Biden administration announced on Tuesday that, as part of its latest $700 million package to Ukraine, the U.S. would be sending advanced rocket systems to the Eastern European country. 

The move by the administration was described as “deliberately and diligently pouring fuel on the fire” by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday.