Four million more children in eastern Europe and Central Asia are now living in poverty as a result of the Ukrainian conflict and rising prices.
According to a report released on Monday by UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children.
Children were "carrying the hardest burden" of the conflict, according to this data, which represents a 19% increase since 2021.
Information from 22 regional countries is included in the study.
Children in Russia and Ukraine have been particularly hard-hit by the war.
According to the report, 2.8 million more children in Russia live in families that are below the poverty line.
In Ukraine, half a million additional children were living in poverty, followed by Romania with an additional 110,000 children.
The UNICEF warned that sharp increase could result in an additional 4,500 children dying before their first birthdays.
Regional director for Europe and Central Asia Afshan Khan said the economic consequences of the war were having a devastating impact on children.
“Children all over the region are being swept up in this war’s terrible wake.
“If we don’t support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly result in lost lives, lost learning, and lost futures.”
One in three children born and raised in poverty will live their adult lives in poverty, leading to an intergenerational cycle of hardship and deprivation, the study noted.
“We have to protect and expand social support for vulnerable families before the situation gets any worse,” Khan said.