The United Nations says the war in Ukraine has forced 14 million Ukrainians from their homes and is causing "immense human suffering," especially for children.
UNICEF's Omar Abdi said 15 of 89 schools it supports in eastern Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed and hundreds of schools across the country have been hit with heavy weaponry.
Meanwhile, Finland said it would apply to join NATO "without delay", with Sweden expected to follow, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine looked set to bring about the very expansion of the Western military alliance that Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent.
The decision by the two Nordic countries to abandon the neutrality they maintained throughout the Cold War would be one of the biggest shifts in European security in decades.
Moscow called Finland's announcement a direct threat to Russia, and threatened retaliation, including unspecified "military technical" measures.
During the Cold War, Finland stayed out of NATO to avoid provoking the Soviet Union, instead opting to remain a neutral buffer between the East and the West while maintaining good relations with Moscow and also with the United States.
This comes as Russia suffered another major setback, with Ukrainian forces driving the invading troops out of the region around Kharkiv, the fastest Ukrainian advance since forcing Russia to withdraw from the capital and northeast more than a month ago.
Ukrainian Defence Ministry spokesman, Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, however said that Russian forces were regrouping near Kharkiv to prevent the Ukrainian military's advance towards the border.
In the southern port city of Mariupol, which has seen some of the worst destruction of the war, Mr Motuzyanyk said Russian troops are still focused on blocking Ukrainian troops from the area of the Azovstal plant.
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