The United Nations and humanitarian agencies have launched on Monday a combined US$ 4.2 billion appeal to donors to bring relief aid to some 10.8 million people in the war-affected communities in Ukraine but also to Ukrainian refugees and their host communities in the region throughout 2024. A recent wave of Russian attacks underscores the devastating civilian cost of the war, while a bitter winter is ratcheting up the urgent need for life-saving humanitarian assistance.
© UNOCHA/Saviano Abreu
According to the UN human rights office, at least 10,000 civilians, including more than 560 children, have been killed and more than 18,700 injured since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. However, the office notes the number of casualties is likely to be much higher.
As of January, almost 4 million Ukrainians are internally displaced and some 6.3 million people have fled as refugees, most to neighboring European countries, making Ukraine one of the largest displacement crises in the world.
“14.6 million people, 40 percent of the population in Ukraine, will need humanitarian aid”, said Martin Griffiths, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, when briefing journalists at the UN in Geneva.
The UN emergency chief added that “it's been as bad as it could be this last month […] and that's really been quite shocking. The number of attacks, the broad range across the whole of the country from Russia has been absolutely unrelenting.”
"Homes, schools and hospitals are repeatedly hit, as are water, gas and power systems. The very fabric of society is under attack with devastating consequences. Our response plan, implemented with national NGOs and volunteers, includes the full range of assistance," he said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) coordinates the response inside Ukraine. This year's Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) requests US$3.1 billion for 2024 and targets 8.5 million people within the war-torn country.
According to Griffiths, who is also the head of OCHA, “3.3 million people [are] living in the middle of war zones, of daily bombardment, of uncertainty about where the day will end. And that's really a shockingly high number even these days.”
The current humanitarian situation is likely to further deteriorate this year if hostilities persist and attacks targeting energy and other critical infrastructure increase during the ongoing winter, said OCHA. In front-line towns and villages, people have exhausted their meager resources and rely on aid to survive.
“In Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, families live in damaged houses with no piped water, gas or electricity in the freezing cold,” Griffiths said. “Constant bombardments forced older people to spend their days in basements. Children terrified, traumatized, still have lived for the last three years under these circumstances, trapped indoors and many, many, many, many of them with no schooling.”
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which coordinates the Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP), requests US$1.1 billion and targets 2.3 million refugees and host communities this year. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sparked the largest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War.
Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees said that “the total displacement, […] is about 10 million people. If you add the almost 4 million estimated to be displaced inside Ukraine and the over 6 million, these are estimated to be refugees worldwide.”
Grandi added that “of the people outside, especially those in Europe that are just over 5 million. So the bulk, some people do go back and forth, but the return has not been in very huge numbers. IOM [International Organization of Migration] estimates about 900,000 people have returned. This is an estimate because it's very, very difficult to count because of the pendulum movement.”
The refugee situation is very fluid in that people often leave and then go back to Ukraine, which is quite unusual in most refugee situations. Grandi said it is important to understand that the pendular movement is possible in Ukraine and not possible in other refugee situations "because these people are not fleeing from their government. They are fleeing from the occupation and the invasion and the Russian bombing."
Ukrainian refugees in neighboring countries also need increased and sustained support, said UNHCR. Despite efforts for inclusion, only half of school-age refugee children are enrolled in schools in host countries, while a quarter of refugees in need struggle to access health care.
According to Grandi, “the number of refugees in working age who are employed Ukrainians, depending on the country, ranges from 40 to 60 percent. So, there's an extra push to be made in terms of inclusion.”
“Host countries continue to extend protection and include them in society, but many vulnerable refugees still need help. They shouldn’t feel pressed to return because they cannot make ends meet in exile. All refugees must be helped and given opportunities to use and build their talents to prepare them for eventual voluntary return when the situation allows,” he added.
Despite extreme access challenges, especially to areas occupied by Russia, aid workers reached nearly 11 million people in Ukraine in 2023, according to OCHA. The office said humanitarian organizations made every effort to increase assistance in the front-line communities. In 2023, humanitarian agencies reached more than 2.5 million refugees with support and protection.
The human rights and humanitarian situation in Ukraine deteriorated rapidly in 2022, after Russia’s invasion escalated eight years of conflict in the east into a full-scale war. The devastation and destruction have been staggering.
Throughout 2023, the war continued to wreak havoc in Ukraine. The killing and injury of thousands of civilians, including children, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the disruption of livelihoods and vital services as well as prolonged displacement have triggered a massive humanitarian and protection crisis.
Hostilities ravaged communities in the east, south and north and took a heavy toll on civilians living close to the front line. The war also has had a devastating impact on the mental health and well-being of children, including the millions who had to flee for safety, whether internally or outside.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created one of the largest humanitarian crises globally. Violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law occurring in the course of the ongoing armed attack are widespread. Millions of civilians fear for their lives. People in Ukraine continue to be killed, wounded and deeply traumatized by the violence.
Further information
Full text: With no let-up for war-affected Ukrainians, UN launches humanitarian and refugee plans to respond in 2024, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, press release, published January 15, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/no-let-war-affected-ukrainians-un-launches-humanitarian-and-refugee-plans-respond-2024-enruuk
Full text: Ukraine Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, report, published January 3, 2024
https://reliefweb.int/attachments/7d7e199b-d658-42ba-867d-a4bd2d64c964/Ukraine%20HNRP%202024%20Humanitarian%20Needs%20and%20Response%20Plan%20EN%2020240110.pdf