Weekly Update #122
July 1, 2024

General Figures

Refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe 

5,996,500

Last updated June 13 2024

Covers those granted refugee status, temporary asylum status, temporary protection, or statuses through similar national protection schemes, as well as those recorded in the country under other forms of stay 

Refugees from Ukraine recorded beyond Europe

558,300

Last updated June 13 2024

Covers those granted refugee status, temporary asylum status, temporary protection, or statuses through similar national protection schemes, as well as those recorded in the country under other forms of stay 

Refugees from Ukraine recorded globally

6,554,800

Last updated June 13 2024

Source: UNHCR collation of statistics made available by the authorities

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IDP Profiling In urban areas: Situation overview in Chervonohradska Hromada - March 2024

The war in Ukraine, which escalated in February 2022, has resulted in large-scale displacement, with an estimated 3.7 million people remaining internally displaced in the country as of December 2023. While 2.3 million IDPs aim to return home despite safety concerns, 665,000 intend to integrate locally. With prolonged displacement, support systems for IDPs’ local integration are becoming increasingly important. At the national level, Ukraine’s state policies have shifted towards durable solutions and recovery efforts for displaced people. Thus, there is a growing need to profile those in displacement situations and gather information to guide strategic efforts at nationwide and local levels.

As of December 31, 2023, Lvivska Oblast in western Ukraine was ranked among the top five regions in the country hosting displaced people. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion Chervonohrad has emerged as the second-largest settlement to host IDPs in Lvivska Oblast following the oblast’s capital settlement, Lviv. As of 1 January 2023, an estimated 6,455 IDPs (both registered and de facto) were hosted in Chervonohradska hromada. Chervonohrad serves as the primary urban centre of Chervonohradska hromada. This administrative unit encompasses 14 settlements and spans 228 square kilometres in the northern part of Lvivska Oblast. Situated within the Lviv-Volyn coal basin, Chervonohrad has been a prominent mining city for decades, with mining operations extending into the neighbouring town of Sosnivka.

While mining remains a cornerstone of the local economy, there has been a noticeable decline in mining activity over the past decade, necessitating efforts towards local economic diversification and modernization with new technologies. Aside from the mining industry, Chervonohradska hromada’s economic profile includes industries such as woodworking, furniture, textiles, and trade. The hromada also offers various community resources, including primary, secondary, and vocational educational institutions, cultural and sports facilities, healthcare services, and centralised utility coverage, primarily concentrated in Chervonohrad, Sosnivka, and the peri-urban settlement of Hirnyk.

With a population of 90,000 as of 2022, the hromada has witnessed significant labour migration over the past decades, both internally towards Lviv and externally to European countries due to its proximity to Ukraine’s western border. Due to the escalation of the war in February 2022, Chervonohradska hromada received an influx of those displaced from conflict-affected areas. Given that only 220 IDPs are living in collective sites, the vast majority of IDPs in the hromada have chosen to reside in private accommodations. This underscores the need for a deeper understanding of the experiences and living situations of this demographic for informed and locally tailored programming.

The profile features particular aspects of the residents in terms of: employment, access to public services, income, and access to accommodation.  Details are available in the report.

Source: REACH

Despite progress in accessing education, hundreds of thousands of school-aged refugee children from Ukraine remain out of school

As the third disrupted school year for children and youth from Ukraine draws to a close, more than 600,000 remain out of school across the European Union, from an estimated 1.4 million school-aged refugee children from Ukraine in the block. This is despite some progress in terms of school enrolment, particularly of primary school-aged children.

This week, UNHCR launched an interagency report analyzing trends and challenges in accessing education for Ukrainian refugee children and youth, which included inputs from partners UNICEF, UNESCO, UN Women, the European Commissions and OECD.

The study analyzes data from ten European countries hosting refugees from Ukraine, and while overall progress is apparent, there are significant disparities between countries, with enrolment rates ranging from highs of 97 per cent to as low as just 8 per cent. Many host countries still show double-digit percentages of refugee children and youth from Ukraine residing on their territory who are not enrolled in the country’s education system.

“As refugee children and youth from Ukraine face a fourth school year of disrupted education, more must be done to ensure that there is a place available in school for every child. National education system capacities must be strengthened and barriers to accessing education removed,” said Philippe Leclerc, Director of UNHCR’s Regional Bureau for Europe.

The study noted that some of the key barriers to enrolment which persist include a lack of preparatory classes as well as language classes for students to enable them to integrate into the national systems. These must be scaled up to ensure that all children can access sustainable, quality education in their host countries.

“Sadly, the war in Ukraine shows no signs of abating in the near future. We must ensure that children’s futures are not further disrupted. School enrolment in host countries is the best option until refugees can safely return home. Schools provide not only a space for learning but also a social and a safe space for children to heal from the experiences they have endured in fleeing their homes” added Leclerc. 

The study also highlights that some 57 per cent of families who have not enrolled their children in local schools say that online or remote education using Ukrainian educational content is a driver of this decision. While some parents remain hesitant to enroll their children in host countries, UNHCR emphasizes that enrolment in local schools does not exclude children from reintegrating into the Ukrainian education system, when it is safe for them to return home. On the contrary, it will help to build their skills and knowledge and ensure no gaps in education.

While it is important that refugee children maintain cultural links with their home country, this can be ensured alongside enrolment in national education systems of host countries.

As the Ukraine refugee emergency evolves into a protracted refugee education crisis, hundreds of thousands of children and youth remain at risk of having significant gaps in their learning, and other detrimental effects that may affect their well-being, safety and future prospects for many years to come.

Source: UNHCR

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UNHCR welcomes the extension of Temporary Protection for refugees from Ukraine

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is encouraged by the EU’s continued demonstration of solidarity and responsibility towards refugees from Ukraine, following the Council’s decision to extend temporary protection for an additional year.  

“Today’s announcement is much welcome as it ensures greater certainty for refugees from Ukraine, granting them continued residence. By extending temporary protection, the EU demonstrates its continuous commitment to protect those fleeing unabated hostilities in Ukraine. EU countries opted for a pragmatic solution by granting this status to the millions who fled the war in Ukraine,” said Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR’s Representative to the EU, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.

The application of the European Union’s Temporary Protection Directive to people displaced from Ukraine, extended today until March 2026 by the Council, provides a legal framework for the protection and inclusion of refugees in national systems.

“Although of a temporary nature, this protection guarantees to more than 4.2 million refugees from Ukraine residency, access to public services and to the labour market of host countries for another year,” he added. 

As of 30 April, 2024 some 4.2 million refugees who fled Ukraine remain under temporary protection in the European Union, the majority in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. According to a recent UNHCR survey, while indeed most refugees intend to return to Ukraine in the future, the ongoing war is preventing the majority from returning in the short term. UNHCR considers their continuing access to international protection to be paramount – and the extension of temporary protection is a practical tool to ensure this. 

UNHCR encourages host States to continue focusing on the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees from Ukraine – a process which brings not only significant positive contributions to host countries, but will also eventually benefit Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery upon return. In this process, UNHCR highlights the need to include and continue to support more vulnerable groups in the refugee community, who may require further assistance to realise their rights in host countries. 

For example, in Poland, between 225,000 and 350,000 refugees from Ukraine are currently working in the country and have played a vital role in the local economy, demonstrating resilience and the willingness to support their host societies. As a result of their labor market contribution, it is estimated that in 2023 their share in Poland’s GDP was between 0.7 and 1.1 per cent. 

UNHCR continues to advocate for the lessons learned from the application of temporary protection to be applied beyond the Ukraine refugee situation. The innovative approaches and significant solidarity demonstrated by host States have the potential to enhance self-reliance, reduce dependency on reception, relief and social protection systems and enhance inclusion for other refugee populations in the EU.

Source: UNHCR

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Staying Safe: Inter-Agency insights on Protection and Accountability for Refugees from Ukraine

This regional report by UNHCR presents key findings related to protection, including child protection, gender-based violence, and accountability to affected populations.  The report focuses on the results of a multi-sectoral needs assessment (MSNA) in seven countries -- Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The data collection exercise focused on various sectors, including education, healthcare, and protection.

Demographic profiles

• The majority of respondents were women, with percentages ranging from 65% in the Czech Republic to as high as 89% in Poland. Over half of respondents fall within the 35-59 age group.

• Women with children households are the largest household category for nearly all countries, followed by women without children at 25.7 percent of households. Two exceptions are Bulgaria, where the largest household category is of women without children (31.3% vs. 33.2% respectively), and Romania, where the second largest household category is those consisting

• Kharkivska (12%), Dnipropetrovska (10%), Khersonska (9%), and Odeska (9%) as the most common areas of origin for respondents. A significant portion also came from Donetska (8%), Zaporizka (7%), Kyiv (6%), and Kyivska (5%) oblasts.

Key Findings

• The top priority needs for refugees are employment/livelihood, healthcare and accommodation. However, for households who have at least one member with a disability and for those who have no employed family members, food and healthcare are the top two priority needs.

• Regionally, almost one third of respondents reported experiencing hostile behavior or attitudes from the local population.

• Forty-eight percent of respondents reported protection concerns in their residence area for girls and boys under 18. The most reported risks were neglect, psychological violence in the community, physical violence in the community and worsened mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

• A noticeable share of households (12%) do not know where to turn to when an incident of violence against children occurs.

• Women and girls cited healthcare, accommodation, and employment as their top three priority needs. Ensuring access to these essential services can provide lifesaving support while reducing GBV risks. Economic empowerment is key in enabling women and girls, including survivors of GBV, in accessing lifesaving healthcare and related GBV response services.

• Regionally, mental health and psychosocial problems increased with age and differed by gender. Across all age groups over 12, females consistently reported higher levels of such problems, highest among those aged 35 and older. However, among children under age 11, there were more boys with mental health problems than girls.

Recommendations

• Additional support should be provided to households who have a member with a disability to access essential needs while ensuring continued access to health services. These households face more challenges attaining essential needs such as health services and food, therefore these areas should particularly be targeted.

• Host countries must increase their efforts to systematically identify and integrate refugee children from Ukraine with protection needs into their statutory child protection systems and strengthen the systems’ capacity to meet their needs, improve coordination with other sectors and ensure preparedness.

• National child protection authorities of refugee hosting countries must ensure early identification, registration and assessment of  unaccompanied and separated children, and of children accompanied by an adult who is not their parent, in line with the best interests of the child.

• National authorities and organizations in refugee hosting countries need to promote the engagement of women-led and refugee-led organizations to consistently include GBV risk mitigation in national policies and strategies across sectors and to ensure health, protection and economical empowerment needs are fully integrated in the national response mechanisms.

• Encourage government agencies and women led organizations to develop and effectively use age and culturally appropriate awareness raising programmes and technical guidance to mitigate digital GBV risks.

Source: UNHCR

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Summary of the Mapping on Home-based Care and Assisted Living (April 2024)

The Protection Cluster conducted a situation assessment of the extent of humanitarian organizations on the ground to provide services in terms of the following aspects:  i) Capacity to conduct individual assessments to establish the required type of care; ii)   Home-based care; iii) Assisted living.

Findings

1.  Capacity to conduct individual assessments to establish the required type of care

Nine organizations have the capacity to provide support to national social service providers with establishing whether the person is in need of facility-based care or can reside independently provided that relevant type of home-based care is provided.  Majority are national NGOs. Information is available on presence in 10 oblasts, 15 raions, with 20 hromadas covered. Overall, there are one or two partners present per region, with 3 partners covering Lvivska oblast.

Partners: Caritas Ukraine, 100% Life, Dorcas, Everything will be fine, Handicap International – Humanity Inclusion, Kharkiv Jews Hased Shaare Tikva, Rokada, Ukrainian Human Rights Initiative, Way of Ukraine.

2.  Home-based care

Sixteen organizations are currently providing home-based care to people with disabilities and older people, receiving funding through 23 projects. Of them 70% are national NGOs. All 25 regions are covered by partners, however, in the majority of regions in the Centre and West National Red Cross Society is the only organization providing these services. Oblasts covered by the largest number of partners are Kharkivska and Dnipropetrovska – seven and five organizations present respectively.

 Overall, 200,000 people are currently supported by partners, with the capacity to expand and include additional 4,260 people, should additional resources be available. Estimations on additional people that can be included are based partially on estimates of needs that partners cannot cover and on the current capacity to support more volunteers with oversight, incentives and training.

In majority organizations social workers on staff provide home based care, while the remaining organizations provide assistance through volunteers trained and incentivized by the organization. 16,000 social workers and 697,000 volunteers are engaged in service provision, majority of them being volunteers who are part of the National Red Cross Society network.

To expand service provision National Red  Cross Society would also need a request from local authorities with information about people in need of home based care, as well as information on people who could potentially be trained and work as social workers. At the moment, only 5 partners have projects confirmed throughout 2025, while majority have funding confirmed only till the end of this year.

Partners: Blago, Caritas in Boryslav, Ternopil and Zaporizhzia, Dorcas, Everything will be fine, NGO, Handicap International – Humanity Inclusion, HelpAge International, Heart of the Son, Perspektyva – Centre for Social Partnership, Polish Humanitarian Action, Kharkiv Jews Hased Shaare Tikva, National Red Cross Society of Ukraine, Rokada, Right to Protection, Samaritans of Ukraine – Kyiv Association, Ukrainian Human Rights Initiative, Way of Ukraine

3.   Assisted living

Eleven organizations are currently providing assisted living support to people with disabilities and older people, of them 76% are national NGOs. Assistance is provided in 10 regions. Lvivska oblast has the largest number of partners present, 5 organizations are providing assisted living support, while in all other oblasts there are no more than one or two partners. Information is available on 15 raions and 19 hromadas covered.

Overall, 7,100 people are currently supported by partners employing 353 social workers. Almost all partners report provision of the service to IDPs residing in collective sites, which requires further discussion to which extent it is provided in line with the standard for assisted living adopted by the Ministry of Social Policy. 64% of people provided assisted living support reside in Lvivska oblast, with larger share assisted by Caritas and Ukrainian Alliance for Public Health as these organizations have presence in 4 hromadas of the oblast. 8% of partners provide support in the assisted living departments of territorial centres – in Donetska and Dnipropetrovska oblast and only 1% (500 people) are provided assisted living support in their homes – by Handicap International in Dnipropterovska oblast.

Majority of partners have funding confirmed only till the end of this year, while three organizations have projects spanning to 2025 and 2027. 5 organizations have the capacity to expand and include additional 1,120 people in the currently covered regions and Poltavska oblast,

Partners: Caritas Ukraine, Everything will be fine, Family for persons with disabilities, Handicap International – Humanity Inclusion, Heart of the Son, Move Ukraine, Perspektyva – Centre for Social Partnership, Ukrainian Alliance for Public Health, Samaritans of Ukraine.

Source: Protection Cluster, UNHCR

In the Kharkiv region, the Russian cross-border offensive northeast of Kharkiv city continued for a third week, with Russian forces occupying Buhruvatka village and advancing in the directions of Lyptsi, Starytsia, and Vovchansk. Clashes also continued in the direction of Kupiansk with no confirmed territorial gains. In the Luhansk region, fighting continued along the administrative boundary with Kharkiv, with Russian forces advancing east of Svatove. In the Donetsk region, Russian troops continued to advance along the frontline near the Donetsk city, particularly south of Marinka and in the areas of Krasnohorivka and Ocheretyne. Fighting also continued south and southwest of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia region and in the area of Krynky in the Kherson region.

Ukrainian forces conducted several strikes on the Russian rear throughout the week. On 18 May, Ukrainian shelling of Skadovsk on the southern coast of the Kherson region left 12 civilians injured, according to the local occupation authorities. On 20 May, the Ukrainian military shelled the former Academy of Internal Affairs in Yuvileine, east of Luhansk city, which is currently serving as a Russian military base. The following day, modified Ukrainian naval drones launched Grad rockets at Russian positions on the Kinburn Spit in the Mykolaiv region. In occupied Crimea, Ukrainian naval drones attacked Sevastopol, destroying Russian sea minesweeper Kovrovets and damaging the missile ship Tsyklon on 19 May. On 24 May, Ukrainian forces fired missiles at a Russian communication node near Alushta, Crimea.

Russian shelling, missiles, and airstrikes killed around 30 civilians in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions. Two-thirds of civilian fatalities were recorded in the Kharkiv region. Russian forces fired at Kharkiv city almost daily, killing seven civilians and injuring at least 47 others. On 19 May, Russian missiles hit a recreational center in Cherkaska Lozova, killing at least seven civilians and wounding 28 others. Russian shelling of Kivsharivka on the same day killed three civilians and wounded four others. On 23 May, Russian glide bombs and missiles hit Derhachi and Liubotyn near Kharkiv city, injuring over 20 civilians.

Source: ACLED

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Assessment of damage to residential infrastructure in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovska Oblast, June 2024

Nikopol is a city in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the fourth largest city in the oblast with a population of 105,160 people at the start of 2022. In February 2023, city authorities estimated the population to be “50%” of that figure due to displacement caused by hostilities. It is situated on the right bank of the Dnieper river, with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation situated on the left.3 The city has an industrial economy, including the manufacture of steel and pipe.

Nikopol has been intensely affected by the conflict. Regular artillery and drone attacks continue to damage residential areas, public infrastructure, and industries, affecting the local economy. REACH’s Damage Impact Analysis found that economic activity was perceived to be highly impacted by damage, with a contraction in the jobs market. In the ACAPS “Civilian Infrastructure Damages Dataset”, around 75% of the identified damaged objects are economic. As well as facing bombardment, the city has been affected by the breach of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023, causing the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir near the city to empty.

In December 2023, Mayor Oleksandr Sayuk reported almost 5000 damaged structures in Nikopol.ACLED (the Armed Conflict Location and Event Database) reported attacks on 244 days throughout 2023.  Already by 30 April 2024, there were reports of incidents on 113 days (or more than nine in every ten days).

The area of the city closest to the reservoir bank shows the most intensive damage (48% of the identified buildings overall were within 500 meters of theriver bank.

Temporary repair work is visible throughout the city, indicating that more permanent repairs are not being made.

The emptied Kakhovka reservoir shows signs of ecological transformation, adversely changing the environment and economy for people living in the city.

Source: REACH

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Russia presses its offensive in Ukraine and issues new threats as the West tries to blunt the push

Slowly but steadily this summer, Russian troops are forging through Ukraine’s outgunned and undermanned defenses in a relentless onslaught, prompting the West to push for new weapons and strategies to shore up Kyiv.

That, in turn, has brought new threats by President Vladimir Putin to retaliate against the West — either directly or indirectly.

The moves by the West to blunt the offensive and the potential Kremlin response could lead to a dangerous escalation as the war drags through its third year — one that further raises the peril of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

Russia’s probing offensive

Russia took advantage of its edge in firepower amid delays in U.S. aid to scale up attacks in several areas along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front. Relatively small units are probing Ukrainian defenses for weak spots, potentially setting the stage for a more ambitious push.

Russia’s offensive near Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, that began in May and worried Kyiv’s Western allies has apparently lost momentum after the Ukrainian army bolstered its forces in the area by redeploying troops from other sectors.

Meanwhile, Russia has made incremental but steady advances in the Donetsk region, including around the strategic hilltop town of Chasiv Yar, a gateway to parts of Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. Analysts say the fall of Chasiv Yar would threaten the key military hubs of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Putin declared that Moscow wasn’t seeking quick gains and would stick to the current strategy of advancing slowly.

Moscow also has stepped up airstrikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities and other vital infrastructure with waves of missiles and drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country had lost about 80% of its thermal power and one-third of its hydroelectric power in the strikes.

The West responds, the Kremlin counters

Washington and some NATO allies have responded to the offensive by allowing Kyiv to use Western weapons for limited strikes inside Russia. The U.S. has allowed Ukraine to use American weapons against military targets in Russia near Kharkiv and elsewhere near the border, but, to Kyiv’s dismay, Washington so far hasn’t given permission for strikes deeper in Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron and some other Western officials argue that Kyiv has the right to use their equipment to attack military assets anywhere in Russia. There also has been talk by Macron and the leaders of NATO’s Baltic members — but not the U.S. — of deploying troops to Ukraine.

Putin warns that this would be a major escalation, and he threatened to retaliate by providing weapons to Western adversaries elsewhere in the world.

He reinforced that argument by signing a mutual defense pact with North Korea in June and holding the door open for arms supplies to Pyongyang.

He declared that just as the West says Ukraine can decide how to use Western weapons, Moscow could provide arms to North Korea and “similarly say that we supply something to somebody but have no control over what happens afterward” — an apparent hint at Pyongyang’s role as arms trader.

The nuclear threat and Putin’s long game

Putin said it was wrong for NATO to assume that Russia won’t use its nuclear arsenal, reaffirming it will use “all means” if its sovereignty and territorial integrity are threatened.

He also warned that Moscow was pondering possible changes to its doctrine that specifies when it resorts to nuclear weapons.

Underscoring that, Russia held military drills with battlefield nuclear weapons involving Belarus. Last year, Moscow deployed some of those weapons to Belarus to try to discourage Western military support for Ukraine.

Source: AP News