‘Up to 10,000’ Ukrainian orphans desperately need to be evacuated from kyiv homes

Thousands of children must be evacuated from Kyiv (Photo: Reuters)

Up to 10,000 Ukrainian orphans desperately need to be evacuated from Kyiv, as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his bombardment of Ukraine.

Young children are reportedly hiding in basements to avoid deadly shelling and facing dangerous food and water shortages at 700 children’s homes in the Ukrainian capital.

Only 2,500 orphans were evacuated, The mirror reported, adding that about 5,000 disabled children still need to be rescued.

Ukraine’s president said on Sunday that 125,000 people had been evacuated to safe territory.

UK charity Hope and Homes for Children helped 100 children to safety in Dnipro and Vorzel.

Up to 60,000 staff are also seeking refuge with their own families, according to the charity.

Caregivers described how they quickly rounded up the youngsters and led them to safety underground, announcing “Children – explosions”.

It comes as seven Ukrainian civilians, including a child, died when Russia bombed a humanitarian convoy of refugees and forced them to turn back, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

tile for post ID 16559520

First photo of 50-year-old ex-boyfriend charged with murdering Katie Kenyon

The seven people were among hundreds of people who tried to flee the village of Peremoha, 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of kyiv.

An unknown number of people were injured in the shelling, the report added.

Moscow has said it will establish humanitarian corridors out of conflict zones, but Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of disrupting those pathways and shooting civilians.

Hope and Homes for Children rescued 50 children, including two babies and two disabled, from Dnipro in central Ukraine.

Another 50 people from Vorzel, near the capital, were taken by bus after their orphanage was hit by an illegal Russian cluster bomb, according to reports.

Hope and home helper Daria, 40, told how carers tried to protect the children from Russian attacks.

She told the Mirror: ‘When the first rockets fell it was a massive shock. We said, “Children, your life is changing today. Rockets could fly at any time, soldiers could come through the gate.”

“We started explaining to them very quickly how we had to go down to the basement during an air raid.

“We told them: ‘A war has started, we must be nice to each other, we must not argue.’ We told them to make sure you finish every bit as we don’t know when the next food delivery will arrive.

“The third night we heard bombs nearby. I walk into the dorm and say “kids, explosions” and they go quickly and neatly down to the basement.

Contact our press team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check out our news page.

MORE: Russia annihilates entire city in Ukraine

Comments are closed.