STATEMENT: Attack on Dnipro, Ukraine: "Each blow to a school is a blow to childhood"

KYIV (June 24, 2025)—Over a dozen schools and kindergartens have reportedly been damaged in a deadly attack on Dnipro this morning, with at least two children injured when a train was shelled. The attack came just over 24 hours after a round of drone and missile strikes in Kyiv killed nine people including an 11-year-old child, according to reports.

This escalation comes just days after a major UN report claimed Ukraine to have the fifth-highest percentage increase—105%—of grave violations against children between 2023 and 2024.

Sonia Khush, Save the Children Country Director in Ukraine, said:

"We are horrified by reports that schools and kindergartens have been damaged by the latest shelling in Dnipro, and that at least two children have been injured by the shelling of a train. This comes just one day after a child was killed in Kyiv.

"Killing and maiming children and attacking schools are grave violations against children – which last year increased by 105% in Ukraine.

"Each blow to a school is a blow to dozens of childhoods that have been ground down by more than three years of war.

"These violations should never be normalized and yet this is what children in Ukraine wake up to every day. We are crying out to parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under international law, stop bombing schools and civilian areas, and protect children."

Save the Children has been working in Ukraine since 2014. Since February 24, 2022, the humanitarian organization has dramatically scaled up its operations and now has a team of 250 staff based in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, and Chernivtsi. Working with more than 25 partners, the organization has provided essential support and reached more than 4.2 million people, including around 1.59 million children.

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