GENEVA/KYIV/DUBAI: Two million children have now been forced to flee Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to UNICEF.

As of March 28, the UN agency had dispatched 114 trucks carrying 1,275 tonnes of emergency supplies to support the children and their families in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries.

Yesterday, Kuehne + Nagel shipped an additional 111 tonnes on an AN-124 from UNICEF’s Dubai warehouse to Poland where the goods will be transferred to trucks for final delivery.

So far 63 vehicles have made it to neighbouring Ukraine delivering medicines, medical equipment, winter clothes and hygiene and educational kits.

UNICEF and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees say children make up half of all refugees from ‘Putin’s War’ with over 1.1 million in Poland and hundreds of thousands in Romania, Moldova, Hungary Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“The situation inside Ukraine is spiralling,” said UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell. “As the number of children fleeing their homes continues to climb, we must remember that every single one of them needs protection, education, safety and support.”

With estimates of 2.5 million children displaced in Ukraine, UNICEF says it is is working with national governments across the region to establish additional measures to keep them safe, including screening at border crossings to avoid trafficking.