Last Wednesday, approximately 1 million people who are now refugees were going about their lives in Ukraine. Then came a Russian Federation invasion that has so far lasted over a week.
As Ukraine continues to fight off Russian forces and asks for help from other nations, it is still unclear when fighting in the country may finally end. So, what happens to the people who are now separated from their homes?
“Staff have already moved in throughout the region and are scaling up our protection and assistance programmes for refugees, in support of host governments,” said a Thursday statement from United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
In the statement, Grandi confirmed 1 million refugees had left Ukraine as of Thursday, a number that includes Ukrainians as well as others living in the country, such as students and refugees from other countries.
According to CNN, UN Secretary General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said there could be around 10 million overall refugees – greater than the entire population of New York City as of April 2020 – from Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
According to the World Bank, Ukraine had a population of just over 44 million people in 2020.
“We are witnessing a colossal humanitarian crisis. So far, over one million human beings, many of them women and children and some of them citizens of other countries who were living in Ukraine when the latest fighting erupted, have literally run for their lives to escape the fighting in there,” said a statement the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees provided to Audacy.
In a video shared by the United Nations, a woman fleeing Ukraine is seen holding her infant child.
“I’m afraid for the baby,” she said. “I don’t know what it will be like after.”
“I have worked in refugee emergencies for almost 40 years, and rarely have I seen an exodus as rapid as this one,” said Grandi, who called the Russian invasion “a senseless war.”
He said UNHCR staff and other humanitarians are working in “frightening conditions” to help refugees. $1.5 billion had been pledged for the humanitarian appeals in Ukraine, according to the UN.
Refugee aid programs include “Blue Dot” centers “at border entry points and other strategic locations to support the delivery of emergency services to vulnerable families,” according to the United Nations Children’s Fund. Blue Dots are “a concept that originated during the refugee crisis of 2015-2016,” and are “organized in close coordination with national and local authorities, and in collaboration with UNHCR and other protection partners.”
On Tuesday, the European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive “to offer quick and effective assistance to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.”
“We and our partners are committed to staying and delivering, wherever we are needed, to help ensure innocent civilians fleeing this conflict are met with basic human compassion and receive the immediate humanitarian assistance they need urgently,” said UNHCR.
Once refugees make it across the Ukrainian border, some stay with friends or relatives. In Poland, refugees can stay in reception centers if they have nowhere else to stay, according to the BBC. These centers have food and medical care, said the outlet.
Hungary and Romania are also offering cash allowances for food and clothing as well as places for children in local schools, and the Czech Republic will allow refugees to apply for a special type of visa.
For the most part, Ukrainian refugees have fled to nearby European countries. However, some lawmakers in the U.S. – where 1 million people of Ukrainian ancestry currently live – are preparing for refugees to come to the states as time goes on, according to CNN.
Refugees in the U.S. must go through a specific application process.
“Hour by hour, minute by minute, more people are fleeing the terrifying reality of violence,” said Grandi of Ukraine. “Countless have been displaced inside the country.”
While countries and organizations pledge to help Ukrainian refugees, only ending the invasion will make it safe for them to return home.
“The thing that keeps you alive is the hope of going back,” Xhemajl, who was a refugee at age 13 after the government of Serbia initiated genocidal ethnic cleansing against the Albanians of Kosovo, said in a recent interview with Teen Vogue. “That’s what keeps you going. And you’re working for that, wherever you are.”
During peace talks near the Ukraine-Belarus border Thursday, Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed to organize humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee, according to an Axios report. However, no progress was made towards ending the war, a Ukrainian official said.
“International solidarity has been heartwarming,” said Grandi. “But nothing – nothing – can replace the need for the guns to be silenced; for dialogue and diplomacy to succeed. Peace is the only way to halt this tragedy.”
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