Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis

• In a report published Feb. 22, 2024, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said it had verified 30,457 civilian casualties since Feb. 24, 2022, including 10,582 killed and 19,875 injured. The actual numbers are likely to be significantly higher.
• As of Feb. 15, 2024, more than 6 million refugees from Ukraine were recorded across Europe, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
• Through Sept. 25, 2023, there are an estimated 3.7 million IDPs in Ukraine. This figure represents a big decline compared to the 5.08 million as of June 13, 2023. Since August 2022, the number of IDPs has been on a downward trend.
• Between Feb. 24, 2022, and Feb. 22, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) verified 1,587 attacks on health care in Ukraine, resulting in 118 deaths and 253 injuries.
• According to Ukrainian authorities, in February 2023, the areas contaminated with mines and explosives had increased tenfold since the start of the war, with an estimated 30% of the country’s territory contaminated by mines.
• Humanitarian partners reached nearly six million people with multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) in 2022. More than $1.2 billion was provided to people impacted by the war in Ukraine. It was the fastest and largest cash programming scale-up in humanitarian history.
• The Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment released on March 23, 2023 by Ukraine’s government, the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the UN estimates that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine had grown to $411 billion, 2.6 times the country’s estimated 2022 GDP.

Complex humanitarian emergencies, such as Ukraine, are characterized by a variety of factors that contribute to human suffering. Factors include war or conflict, under-development, poverty, overpopulation, human-caused environmental destruction, and climate change and disaster events.

Attacks on critical infrastructure put communities in despair, hamper recovery and destroy lives. An extreme example of this is the collapse of the Kakhovka dam. Ukrainian and Russian authorities blamed each other for the collapse, which sent residents fleeing, prompted rescues, and damaged thousands of homes and civilian infrastructure. The destruction of the dam was being referred to by some as the largest technological disaster in Europe in decades.

According to experts, a deliberate explosion inside the dam most likely caused the massive structure to crumble. The dam has been under Russian control since early in the war. Officials said about 22,000 people live in areas at risk of flooding in Russian-controlled areas on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, while 16,000 live in the most critical zone in Ukrainian-held territory on the river’s western side.

As of June 7, about 80 towns in the Khersonska oblast had reportedly been flooded, causing damages and destruction to homes and other infrastructure. According to UNOCHA on July 7, 2023, “Access to water will remain the key humanitarian need in locations upstream from the dam where nearly 1 million people live in towns and villages estimated to be severely or catastrophically impacted by the sudden loss of water supply.”

On July 25, Save the Children issued a statement warning of the impact of the dam collapse on children and the availability of drinking water.

Amnesty International said the dam destruction requires an urgent international response. Marie Struthers, Regional Director, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said in part, “The rules of international humanitarian law specifically protect dams, due to the dangers their destruction poses to civilians. The destruction of the Kakhovka dam is a catastrophe that endangers the life, safety and well-being of tens if not hundreds of thousands of people living within range of the flood waters.”

The agricultural sector in southeast Ukraine is expected to be particularly affected in the long term because of flooded fields and the region’s dependence on irrigation. Farmland that is no longer irrigated and cultivated may dry up, becoming more vulnerable to soil erosion and dust storms.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN said on July 26, 2023, “Flooding after the breach of the Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023 resulted in relatively limited losses on agricultural production but long-term consequences for irrigation remain, including for maize and other irrigated crops planted in spring 2023.”

According to the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps, priorities for the agricultural sector in the aftermath of the dam’s destruction include demining and removal of unexploded ordinances, rehabilitation of irrigation systems and wells, access to financing, and provision of agricultural equipment.

One hundred days after the disaster, Norwegian Refugee Council said on Sept. 13, 2023, affected people struggled to rebuild their lives. While there has been some progress on the recovery, “the rehabilitation of pipelines is a complex operation particularly in areas close to active hostilities. This means civilians living in villages could end up facing winter without water and warmth.”

The war has impacted people’s access to health care, education and other basic services. People living outside collective sites, particularly in rural areas, face problems accessing services and assistance.

For those that are not displaced and remain home in war-affected areas, mainly older people, people with disabilities or with chronic disease, there is limited access to services and aid while also facing high severity of insecurity.

In their Ukraine humanitarian response and funding snapshot released on Oct. 27, 2023, UNOCHA said, “Despite continuous efforts by partners to increase humanitarian support, some specific activities, particularly related to the provision of essential services in areas close to the front line have been limited by insecurity and access challenges. The delivery of aid to communities along the front line, however, has steadily increased throughout the year.”

The war in Ukraine has been the fastest growing and largest displacement crisis in Europe since World War II. The 2024 Ukraine Situation Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRP) requested $1.1 billion to support 2.2 million refugees across 11 host countries.

The RRP states, “Barring unforeseen circumstances, newly displaced refugee movements into neighbouring countries and beyond are expected to significantly decrease as compared to the first years of the response.”

From Feb. 24, 2022 to Feb. 14, 2024, there were more than 28.69 million border crossings from Ukraine to countries featured in the RRP, according to UNHCR. As of Feb. 15, 2024, 6,004,100 refugees from Ukraine were recorded across Europe, a significant decline from mid-May 2023 when more than 8.24 million refugees were recorded in the continent.

On March 4, 2022, “European Union (EU) Member States activated the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) for the first time. The TPD stipulates that all Member States must grant temporary protection (TP) to Ukrainians and persons with protection status in Ukraine and their family members residing in Ukraine before 24 February.”

Through Feb. 14, 2024, 2,974,510 Ukrainian refugees were registered for Temporary Protection or similar national schemes in neighboring countries. The TPD is the first time the bloc has invoked such an emergency power. Observers have noted that the reception for Ukrainians in the EU is in stark contrast to how the continent has viewed asylum seekers from other parts of the world.

On March 2, 2023, humanitarian organizations providing assistance inside Ukraine, to refugees who have fled the country and to host communities, applauded the activation of the TPD in March 2023. Yet, they said, “ensuring all refugees from Ukraine enjoy the rights provided by the TPD has not been without challenges.” The organizations called on the EU and Member States to redouble efforts to ensure its effective, uniform and inclusive implementation.

According to IOM’s General Population Survey (Round 14), an estimated 3,674,000 people have been internally displaced within the country. Of the total, 52% of all IDPs are concentrated in just five oblasts in Ukraine, “with the largest estimated de-facto IDP presence in Dnipropetrovska and Kharkivska Oblasts (498,000 and 494,000 estimated IDPs, respectively).”

An estimated 70% of displaced households reported to IOM having been displaced for at least one year. According to IOM, “As IDPs remain in displacement for longer periods of time, they may face compounded vulnerabilities borne out by the protracted nature of their displacement.”

As early as April 2022, IOM began observing significant movements of displaced people back to their place of residence. IOM defines return as “the act or process of going back or being taken back to the point of departure.”

There were nearly 80,000 foreign students in Ukraine at the beginning of the conflict. Many are Indian or African (mostly from Morocco, Egypt and Nigeria) and both groups reported stories of racism and discrimination at the border in trying to leave the country when the war began.

UNHCR carried out interviews between January 2024 and February 2024 with close to 4,000 refugee households across Europe, 4,800 IDP households in Ukraine and close to 1,100 refugee returnee households in Ukraine. The analysis revealed the proportion of refugees planning or hoping to return to Ukraine in the future has decreased compared to one year ago (from 77% to 65%), while the share of those who are undecided about returning has increased (from 18% to 24%). As displacement continues, uncertainty grows.

The Biden administration announced in April 2022 that the U.S. would accept 100,000 Ukrainians through an online portal named Uniting for Ukraine. Under this program, more than 178,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the U.S. as of February 2024. Additionally, more than 319,000 Ukrainians have been processed into the U.S. outside of the program since March 24, 2022. Whichever scenario refugees find themselves in, there is a lot of uncertainty, and as of February 2024, no clear permanent pathways to legalization exist for Ukrainians.

According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll in April 2022, 65% of Americans favored accepting Ukrainian refugees into the U.S., while 15% oppose it. More than 40 major companies in the U.S., including Hilton, Amazon, Pfizer and Pepsico, pledged in September 2022 to hire nearly 23,000 refugees over the next three years. However, their promises do not match the increase in new arrivals.

Ukraine has more than 130 ethnic groups, many of whom speak other languages. Groups with heightened vulnerabilities include the Roma community, the elderly, people with disabilities, women in rural communities in displacement and conflict zones, and LGBTQIA+ communities.

The 2024 HNRP says the prolonged effects of the war will continue to exacerbate the fragile humanitarian conditions of vulnerable people. The HNRP also states, “Increased hostilities could further deepen the already prominent and severe protection crisis impacting the most vulnerable groups, including children, further aggravated by limited levels of humanitarian access in front-line areas.”

Many homes that care for older Ukrainians and those with disabilities in eastern Ukraine have evacuated their residents to Dnipro, and many residents are traumatized. Older adults have faced increased challenges in accessing services and forced separation and isolation. The harsh winter weather and lack of power and electricity caused by Russian attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure creates particular challenges for older people because of existing health problems, limited mobility and little income.

According to a report by Amnesty International released on Dec. 1, 2023, “Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022, has placed unprecedented strain on Ukraine’s already overburdened care system. As a result, many older people, including older people with disabilities, have been separated from their families, leading to their segregation and isolation.”

According to IOM’s General Population Survey (Round 14), 29% of IDP households had one or more people living with a disability and 49% included at least one older person. In Round 13, these figures were 30% and 44% respectively.

The war has destroyed or damaged thousands of schools. On Jan. 24, 2023, Save the Children said one school has been destroyed every other day in Ukraine since the start of the academic year in September 2022. The ongoing attacks mean Ukrainian schools cannot have onsite classes without a functional bomb shelter.

Multiple forms of gender-based violence (GBV) have been reported, with high risk for women and girls fleeing, at border crossing points, transit centers and bomb shelters. A report from HIAS and VOICE released in May 2022 discusses a range of GBV risks, including an increase in domestic violence and an extreme lack of safe and sustainable housing and shelter options. Civil society organizations have responded to meet immediate needs but face many challenges in attempting to provide support to large numbers of internally displaced people.

According to a GBV Task Force formed by members of the GBV sub-cluster and the Cash Working Group, the Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) scheme registration is mainly done online, which is a barrier to people without access to the internet, including older women. Additionally, women from some ethnic minority groups, such as Roma, may have more difficulties registering for CVA due to a lack of documentation.

People that identify as LGBTQIA+ people in Ukraine often cannot reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity, fearing violence, rejection and discrimination if they do. People’s identities are complex and intersect in ways that can exacerbate inequitable outcomes. Discrimination and other difficulties often add barriers to accessing humanitarian assistance and services. Transgender persons whose gender identity does not match their official identity documents face significant barriers. Dozens of LBGTQIA+ Ukrainians have reported being turned away at official Ukrainian border crossings and experienced mistreatment by authorities.

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The war has devastated Ukraine’s economy, with hostilities and displacement driving loss of livelihoods and income.

The 2024 HNRP says, “The agri-food sector — a key pillar of Ukraine’s economy — is contracting rapidly, with severe consequences for broader food and nutrition security and profound shocks on rural households that rely exclusively on agriculture for their livelihoods.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had multiple negative economic impacts on Ukraine. According to ACAPS, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) “decreased by 30% in 2022. Exports and tax income have decreased at a time when increased defence spending is drastically increasing government spending. The devaluation of the Ukrainian hryvnia and increase in inflation are driving up prices.”

These negative economic impacts contribute to a wide range of humanitarian consequences and needs and demonstrate the importance of humanitarian aid that provides cash assistance and livelihood support.

Ukraine’s agricultural sector is a crucial source of livelihood for Ukrainians, especially those living in rural areas. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the agricultural sector accounts for 11% of the country’s gross domestic product and almost 40% of total exports.

Sunflower may be the most important crop to the Ukrainian economy, considering the size of agricultural holdings, the value of its products and the number of jobs it creates. From Feb. 24 to Oct. 4, 2022, REACH recorded 72 cases of damage or destruction of agricultural machinery. The impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the country’s sunflower oil processing supply chain has been significant.

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam not only has an immediate impact on access to food for thousands of people but will likely impact long-term food production and food security. Thousands of acres of agricultural land have been flooded and may cause the loss of recently planted crops.

Susanne Wengle, a U.S. political scientist, and Vitalii Dankevych, a Ukrainian economist, wrote in July 2023, “Agricultural production could be reduced for years to come, with impacts that ripple through supply chains and affect food security around the world.”

Reinforcing these messages in their Multisectoral Needs Assessment released on April 25, 2023, REACH and WFP said: “In accessible areas, the data suggests that the main driver of food security is economic access. Analysis of consumption expenditures illustrated that a majority of HHs [households] lack economic capacity to meet essential needs and many HHs deploy expenditure-related strategies such as using their savings, cutting essential expenditures or taking on extra work to cope with a lack of resources.”

The conflict is likely to exacerbate world hunger, particularly in countries already facing famine or high levels of malnutrition and food shortages. It will also increase the costs of many products globally. Ukraine exported a number of products that will significantly impact the global food supply chain. Ukraine and Russia export 28% of the world’s wheat and 15% of its corn.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, combined with lingering pandemic effects and an increase in climate-related events, will have far-reaching consequences globally. The war in Ukraine has sent food prices soaring, exacerbating the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. The WFP has urged for a “political solution” as the closure of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea threatens food supplies globally.

An agreement in July 2022 with the UN and Turkey aimed to facilitate shipments of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, with the deal aiming to ease the global food shortage. On Aug. 3, 2022, the first shipment of Ukrainian food under the deal was cleared to proceed from Istanbul to its destination in Lebanon.

On March 17, 2023, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, told the UN Security Council, “Under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, close to 25 million metric tons of foodstuffs have been safely exported from Ukraine since August. WFP has been able to transport more than half a million metric tons of wheat to support humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen.”

On July 17, 2023, Russia abandoned the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the UN Food Systems Summit on July 24, “With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reportedly set to visit Russia’s Vladimir Putin to discuss resuming the Black Sea Grain Initiative in August 2023.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, said on Sept. 23, 2023, the latest UN proposals to restart the export corridor for Ukrainian agricultural products were “simply not realistic.” According to the Famine Early Warning System Network on Nov. 6, 2023, “Exports of Ukrainian grain via its Black Sea ports have declined since the expiration of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) in mid-July 2023, though not to the extent that many anticipated.”

While in New York to speak at the UN General Assembly in September 2023, Ukraine’s President Zelensky met Kenya’s President William Ruto and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa. President Zelensky’s office announced it will set up “grain hubs” in Kenya and other parts of Africa to tackle food insecurity but was short on details.

During all disasters, there are unique needs faced by women and girls, and these are exacerbated in a conflict crisis. In 2024, 8.1 million of the 14.6 million people in need are women and 1.5 million are girls.

According to UN Women, the war takes a bigger toll on women and girls, who disproportionally carry its burden. Fifty-six percent of the approximately 4 million internally displaced people are women. Marking two years since the war began, UN Women said, “women in Ukraine face increased challenges in accessing security, justice, social services, mental, sexual and reproductive health services, employment, and other essential services.”

Generally, displaced persons are at increased risk of trafficking, and conflict often introduces new risks of trafficking and/or exacerbates pre-existing risks. The right combination of factors that increase the risk of trafficking are present in Ukraine, which led to the creation of an Anti-Trafficking Task Force in May 2022. However, while many risk factors for trafficking are present in the Ukraine conflict, there does not appear to be a surge in cases of trafficking yet.

In an article that first appeared in the September 2023 issue of Forced Migration, IOM’s Heather Komenda described how the lack of state collapse in Ukraine “is almost certainly having a profoundly preventative impact.” Other preventative factors include that safe access to territory was given to most (though not all) people fleeing Ukraine. It is possible that trafficking cases may be unreported or undetected, an obstacle faced around the world.

Women continue to face vulnerabilities and risks of trafficking, including large numbers traveling alone and the need to provide for themselves and their families which may mean accepting work in risky conditions. Komenda concluded the article by saying the response to the crisis has almost certainly reduced vulnerability to trafficking, but it is unlikely to have completely eliminated the risk.

There have been numerous reports of rape and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV). According to GBV Sub-Cluster estimates, “3.6 million including IDPs, returnees to war-affected regions, and those remaining in areas under occupation or ongoing military hostilities require immediate and sustained support to access GBV prevention and response services.”

On May 3, 2022, the UN and the government of Ukraine signed a framework to assist survivors of sexual violence. On June 20, the Ukrainian government announced having ratified the Council of Europe’s “Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence,” also known as the Istanbul Convention.

The convention establishes legally binding standards for governments to prevent violence against all women and girls, support survivors, and hold abusers to account. The move was welcomed by rights groups, including Human Rights Watch.

CARE produced a rapid gender analysis (RGA) brief on the Ukraine crisis that highlights significant gender issues – both pre-existing issues and ones that have emerged as a result of the conflict – so that humanitarian responses can better meet people’s different needs as the crisis evolves.

CARE’s RGA states, “As the humanitarian crisis ensues, a general trend has emerged: women are often providing alone for their families while facing loss of income, family separation, and massive disruptions in the provision of essential services; whilst many men are engaged in the more direct war efforts on the frontlines, exposing themselves to potential death, severe injuries and mental health distress.”