A young Ukrainian girl at a transitional refugee camp in Romania cuddles stuffed animals she brought from home for the journey.

More than 5 million people fled Ukraine in the space of eight weeks after the February 2022 escalation of war, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. The sudden escalation of conflict has not only devastated the lives of Ukrainian children and families but is also expected to create economic disruptions that impact child poverty far beyond Eastern Europe — threatening regional stability and raising global humanitarian needs sharply. United Nations agencies anticipate a dramatic increase in global hunger, which was already on the rise, as the conflict has shut off critical food exports from Ukraine.