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2026 Second Regular Session of UNICEF Executive Board

Item 2 of the Provisional Agenda

Opening statements by the President of the Executive Board

and the Executive Director of UNICEF

Intervention by Delegation of Ukraine

September 1, 2026

 

Mr. President,

Madam Executive Director,

We are grateful to UNICEF for its tireless work for Ukrainian children amid Russia’s continuing aggression.

This work is more important than ever. Russia has dramatically intensified its attacks this year, driving civilian casualties to their highest levels since the early stages of the full-scale invasion. Children are bearing the brunt of this escalation.

In July alone, 17 children were killed and 166 injured – the highest monthly number of child casualties since April 2022. On 21 August, a Russian drone attack on a crowded shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih injured at least 23 children. That very same day, hundreds of kilometres away, three more were killed in the Mykolaiv region.

Today, as Ukrainian children begin a new school year, thousands have once again had to start their day in shelters. Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles overnight and launched another drone attack in the morning, just as children were preparing to go to school.

This is their daily reality. Homes, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, water and energy systems continue to be damaged and destroyed. There is increasingly no truly safe place for a Ukrainian child.

We appreciate that UNICEF is already preparing for the coming winter.

The last winter was the most difficult for Ukrainian children, the next may be harder still. For a child, losing electricity means a freezing home, no running water, a closed school and interrupted medical care.

UNICEF requires $160.5 million for its winter response and we urge donors to provide this support now. Winter preparedness cannot begin when winter arrives.

Yet today, even the humanitarian response itself is being attacked.

In July, a Russian attack severely damaged a UNICEF-contracted warehouse near Kyiv, destroying over 106,000 humanitarian items worth $3.9 million. And just last week, another attack affected a warehouse in Chubynske, destroying vital supplies for children and families.

These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader pattern of attacks on humanitarian facilities and civilian infrastructure, making life increasingly unbearable, particularly with winter approaching.

An adequate response must begin with the basics: calling things by their names. Accurate attribution is indispensable. We urge UNICEF and other UN entities to respond to such attacks accordingly.

Finally, Russia continues to refuse to implement General Assembly resolution on return of Ukrainian children. We call on the UN and Member States to use every available tool to compel Russia to disclose the whereabouts of stolen Ukrainian children, enable their independent verification and facilitate their return to their families.

I thank you.