Weekly Update #20
July 17

OVERVIEW OF CURRENT SITUATION

Link: https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/ukraine/

Within Ukraine, over 6.3 million people remain displaced by the international armed conflict. As of today, UNHCR estimates there are over 5.8 million refugees present across Europe, and over 3.6 million refugees from Ukraine have registered for temporary protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe. More than 9.1 million movements out of Ukraine have been recorded since 24 February, with more than 3.5 million movements back into the country (UNHCR Ukraine situation update 15 July.pdf)

In its latest report, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) highlights that only 16 per cent of surveyed refugees have plans to return to Ukraine due to a high level of uncertainty about the future, and most of them intend to come back only temporarily

The attack on Chasiv Yar is the second deadliest since the start of the war, after the 8 April airstrike on a train station in Kramatorsk, which killed nearly 60 people. It adds to the growing toll of casualties and severe damage of the past two weeks caused by attacks which hit civilian areas, including the strike on a residential building and recreation centre in Serhiivka in southern Odeska oblast on 1 July and the missile that hit a shopping centre in Kremenchuk in central Poltavska oblast just days earlier on 27 June.

Refugees from Ukraine across Europe (as of 13 July 2022)

Link: https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/94240

Individual refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe

5,827,832

Last updated 13 Jul 2022

Refugees from Ukraine registered for Temporary Protection or similar national protection schemes in Europe

3,665,123

Last updated 13 Jul 2022

Border crossings from Ukraine (since 24 February 2022)

9,172,153

Last updated 12 Jul 2022

Border crossings to Ukraine (since 28 February 2022)

3,567,036

Last updated 12 Jul 2022

THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

Human rights violations and civilian casualties

The total number of verified civilian casualties since the start of the war on 24 February has now surpassed the 11,500 mark. Over 5,020 civilians have been killed, including 300 children, and 6,520 injured, almost 400 of them children. The actual number of civilian casualties is likely much higher as the ongoing hostilities make many areas of Ukraine inaccessible and only continue to add to the total number.

Impact of the war on farmers

The war has caused significant damage to Ukraine’s agricultural sector, which accounted for 11 per cent of Ukraine’s gross domestic product prior to the war. With the harvest season around the corner, thousands of hectares of fertile land have been destroyed or affected. Unverified reports alerted of the artillery causing fire to agricultural facilities and wheat fields, with some 12 hectares of wheat field damaged in Stepnohirsk, Zaporizka oblast, on 8 July alone.

The escalation of attacks is likely to cause a significant harvest disruption and directly impact food security. UN-brokered negotiations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on resuming grain exports via the Black Sea ports are happening in Türkiye,

Impact on health care

As of 10 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) had verified 369 attacks on health-care facilities, medical transport, warehouses, supplies, medical personnel and patients since 24 February, resulting in 79 deaths and 64 injuries, specifying that 314 health-care facilities, 31 staff and 14 patients were directly affected.

According to WHO, access to health care is severely affected by security conditions, restricted mobility, broken supply chains and mass displacement. Reaching the hardest-hit areas in the east, where health systems have been severely disrupted, remains challenging. Fuel shortages and access problems continue to pose challenges to the delivery and distribution of medical supplies.

Threat to protection assistance

As of mid-July 2022, over 2 million people remain in need of protection assistance, mostly in Chernihivska, Khersonska and Sumska oblasts.

The need for Mine Victim Assistance is high as larger areas are now contaminated with mines and explosive ordnance, and internally displaced people return to areas of origin previously heavily affected by hostilities.

THE UN RESPONSE

UKRAINE RESPONSE

1.5M

people reached with assistance to date

625,074

people reached with essential food and non-food items, winter clothes and shelter materials

544,226

people enrolled for multipurpose cash assistance

391,372

have received their first payment

419,056

people received protection assistance, advice and referrals at border crossing points, transit and reception centres and through hotlines

103,315

people received assistance through humanitarian convoys delivered to hard-hit areas

85,207

Sleeping spaces created / improved in 278 reception centres and collective centres

Protection

• 419,056 people received protection assistance, advice and referrals at border crossing points, transit and reception centres and through hotlines. This includes 178,608 people have received protection information, support or counselling; 133,811 people received information and counselling through hotlines; 50,117 people received legal counselling or assistance; 39,437 people received psychosocial support or psychological first aid; 9,414 received social support. This is in addition to 4,755 protection monitoring missions which have been conducted

Multipurpose Cash Assistance

• Since the beginning of cash enrolment in Ukraine on 17 March, 17 March, 544,226 people have been enrolled by UNHCR to receive cash assistance and 391,372 of them have received their first payments.

Core Relief Items

• To date, 625,074 people have benefitted from core relief items and food assistance across eastern, central and western Ukraine. This includes 129,195 people who received food assistance, 24,657 who were in receipt of shelter kits and573,185 people received core relief items, such as clothes and hygiene kits.

• UNHCR, as part of inter-agency humanitarian convoys, has reached 103,315 people in the hardest hit areas with life-saving assistance since the beginning of the war. Access to the hardest hit areas remains extremely challenging with continuing (IDPs).

New Report on the Profiles and Intentions of Ukrainian Refugees

UNHCR published new findings in the report 'Lives on Hold: Profiles and Intentions of Refugees from Ukraine’ ( https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/94176 )

which shows that the majority of refugees from Ukraine hope to return home as soon as possible but around two-thirds expect to stay in their current host countries until hostilities subside and the security situation improves;

REGIONAL RESPONSE

Country Highlights

Hungary

• 26,563 refugees have applied for temporary protection

• 16,863 people provided with protection support by UNHCR (since 21 March)

• 1 Blue Dot operational in Záhony

Moldova

• 65,427 people have received multipurpose cash assistance

• 1,700+ refugees departed by air to Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland as part of the Solidarity Platform)

• 7 Blue Dot are now operational, with 17,643 people counselled at the Blue Dots between 14 March and 11 July

• 45,774 refugees received protection information or counselling

• 20,793 people received protection support via the UNHCR-managed ‘Green Line’ helpline

Poland

• 1,222,289 refugees have applied for temporary protection

• 261,797 refugees enrolled for multipurpose cash assistance as of 4 July

• 9 Blue Dots operating with some 20,000 people supported

Romania

• 45,530 refugees registered for temporary protection

• 9,673 refugees enrolled for cash assistance as of 11 July

• 26,202 refugees provided with information and counselling in person or over the phone

• 12 Blue Dots operating in Romania

• 11,483 people supported to travel to Romania from Moldova

Slovakia

• 84,779 refugees registered for temporary protection

• 48,977 refugees enrolled for cash assistance as of 11 July from an enrolment target of 57,500 people

• 2 Blue Dots operating in Slovakia

Health

IOM provided primary healthcare services and psychological consultations to 3,115 internally displaced persons and host communities in four oblasts in Ukraine over the past two weeks, bringing the total number of beneficiaries receiving health-related services to 11,075 persons in 25 locations since the start of the war. In addition, IOM teams in Ukraine, Moldova, and Poland are continuing to assist with the transportation and support of medically vulnerable cases to European countries through the TRANSMED initiative.

IOM deploys trained psychosocial mobile teams that are linguistically and culturally capable of serving vulnerable refugee and third country national populations. From 21 June to 5 July, IOM Poland provided psychological first aid (PFA), individual psychosocial counselling, group sessions, social counselling, and community engagement activities to a total of 675 adults and 91 children, reaching a total of 6,669 persons through MHPSS interventions since April. During the reporting period, across Moldova, Hungary, Romania, Belarus, and Slovakia, IOM provided counselling services to 308 adults and socio-relational support to 281 children.

Cash-based interventions

74,772 persons provided with multi-purpose cash assistance in Ukraine

IOM continues to provide support to conflict-affected persons with multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) across Ukraine, with 125,954 displaced people and host community members registered and 74,772 assisted to date. During the reporting period and owing to additional funding, IOM was able to resume the distribution of MPCA to 2,202 additional conflict-affected persons in Ukraine and is expected to begin sector-specific cash-based interventions (CBI) in the coming weeks.

IOM is also providing CBI support to conflict-affected persons in Moldova, Belarus, and Ireland through voucher distribution and in Poland, Bulgaria, and Slovakia through MPCA. Romania is expected to start cash operations in the coming days.

Displacement tracking

On 27 June 2022, IOM released the sixth round of its Ukraine Internal Displacement Report, which provides information on internal displacement and mobility flows within Ukraine. As of 23 June, 14 per cent of the general population, or 6.27 million persons, had been displaced within Ukraine,

In neighboring countries, IOM is rolling out displacement tracking to ensure data and information management to support programme implementation and to contribute to joined-up analysis. On 27 June, IOM Slovakia released its newest Displacement Analysis of Third Country Nationals, which focuses on trends involving TCNs.

Protection

39,278 persons in Ireland provided with assistance with registration for social services

Since the start of the war, IOM has provided referrals or direct protection assistance for 17,466 persons in Ukraine.

To disseminate information on counter-trafficking and provide legal counseling to refugees and third country nationals, IOM operates hotlines in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Lithuania, Slovakia, Belarus, Czechia, and Hungary. To date, IOM Ukraine has provided almost 68,653 consultations through its national toll-free migrant advice and counter-trafficking hotlines,

In Slovakia, as of 5 July, the Migration Information Centre website had recorded 324,602 users and 884,848 page views. IOM has provided direct case management support and assistance with registrations when requested by respective governments. Between 21 June and 5 July, IOM supported 2,519 Ukrainians with the issuance of Temporary Protection Documents, bringing the total number of persons supported since the start of the war to 39,278.

Site management

273 collective centers hosting 14,554 people were assessed

In Ukraine, IOM is working alongside local authorities and civil society to support site management, including through basic care and maintenance of site infrastructure, distributing items and developing capacity of local partners.

From 19 May to 23 June, IOM Ukraine conducted assessments of 273 collective centers hosting 14,554 persons across Dnipropetrovsk region.

Humanitarian border management

110,000 leaflets with updated legal procedures were distributed

During the reporting period, IOM in Poland conducted three capacity building trainings for 61 police officers and border guards while IOM in Moldova and Romania developed and distributed 110,000 leaflets with updated legal provisions and procedures to Border Control Points across the two countries.

Humanitarian transport

11,233 people have been transferred through the Green Corridor

To date, a total of 11,233 persons have been transported through the Green Corridor. IOM also organizes and facilitates charter flights from Moldova and Poland to requesting European countries for vulnerable refugees and third country nationals. To date, a total of 1,666 persons have been transferred by air and train by IOM, in coordination with UNHCR, to Austria, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Norway.

Attacks on health facilities

Health operations

• Emergency Management Teams are operating in 13 oblasts, mainly in the east and northeast, south and the western hub. The main areas of activity continue to be:

trauma care (inpatient & outpatient)

rehabilitation (including burns and spinal cord injury)

mobile health

patient transfer and medical evacuation

trainings

• Vaccines for cholera, polio, and COVID-19 have been made available.

• As of 30 June Health Cluster Partners have reported completed and/or ongoing activities in 442 Ukrainian settlements reaching 2.9 million people. Various management tools have been set in place to ensure availability of medical supplies and timely responses to health support services.

Operational support and logistics

• As of 27 June over 627.1 tonnes of supplies have been delivered to the Ukraine humanitarian response, of which 289 tonnes of critical and life-saving supplies have been distributed to the oblasts

• Technical support to national laboratories continue to be provided in order to meet ISO performance standards.

WHO is preparing for the country’s recovery and reconstruction, since the magnitude of the destruction to the health infrastructure and disruption of the health system have been enormous. A policy note – Principles to Guide Health System Recovery and Transformation in Ukraine (WHO POLICY NOTE ON RECOVERY) -- has been developed to identify istrategic directions for post-war health system recovery in the short and longer terms, while sustaining essential health services during the ongoing invasion.

REPORTING PERIOD HIGHLIGHTS

Health and nutrition

• UNICEF supported 236 health care facilities, including 19 maternity houses (perinatal centres) and 16 children's hospitals.

• 1,516 people, including 20 children with disabilities, 402 internally displaced children, and 386 internally displaced adults, benefited from ongoing offline and online MHPSS counseling.

• To strengthen the vaccine cold chain, the capacity of 1,700 local specialists was strengthened through 16 online training sessions on passive cooling equipment and temperature monitoring for vaccine transportation. A total of 25 online trainings are planned to cover each region in Ukraine.

Protection

• 63 Rapid Response Multidisciplinary Teams (mobile teams) reached more than 37,500 beneficiaries (12,500 online) with integrated services, including 26,800 adults and 10,700 children.

• 194,704 children, parents and caregivers, including 1,859 children with disabilities, were reached with protection service, supplies and other protection services through 24 Spilno Child Spots, mobile teams, social service personnel, group supervision, helpline counselling and peer-to-peer support sessions.

Education

• Training for 316 educators was provided on protection services, and learning sessions were organized for 2,800 children from various oblasts.

Water sanitation and hygiene

• UNICEF continued to support access to safe drinking water and critical hygiene supplies in the most conflict- affected areas. Bottled water was distributed to residents in Mariupol, while water trucking was provided for other settlements in the Donetsk area.

Social protection

• During the reporting period, on average, more than 2,000 households were registered in the system daily and close to 40,000 households are being processed and transferred for payment.

EU grants access to Ukraine for funding under the EU4Health programme

The EU Commission and the Ukrainian Government have signed an agreement associating Ukraine to the EU4Health programme. This agreement will open access for Ukraine to EU funding in the area of health. This will enable the Ukrainian health system to respond to immediate needs and contribute to long-term recovery. The programme has a total budget of €5.3 billion for 2021-27. With the entry into force of the agreement associating Ukraine to EU4Health, the Ukrainian health authorities and wider health community will be able to fully benefit from the funding opportunities under the programme,

This new partnership was established during the visit of the EU Commissioner on Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, to Ukraine. This agreement enables Ukraine to avail of EU funding in the area of health to respond to their immediate needs and to prepare for long-term recovery of the badly damaged health sector.

FAITH AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE

Archbishop Gintaras Grusas (Vilnius), President of CCEE is visiting Ukraine

President of the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe Archbishop Gintaras Grushas visited wounded Ukrainian soldiers

"He is not worthy of freedom who does not protect it," - Archbishop Gintaras Grušas at the Synod

A delegation lead by the President of Caritas Europe visited Moldova

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2022-07/caritas-europe-visits-moldova-still-welcoming-ukrainian-refugees.html

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2022-03/moldavian-catholic-church-supporting-ukrainian-refugees.html

Ukraine. Monsignor Vitillo (ICMC): "If the war lasts, we need to rethink more structured solutions for displaced persons and refugees"

HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE

Holy Father adds special intention for Ukraine at Sunday’s Angelus - 17 July 2022

“And I am also always close to the martyred Ukrainian population, struck every day by a hail of missiles. How can one fail to understand that war only creates destruction and death, driving peoples apart, killing truth and dialogue? I pray and hope that all the international actors will truly work to resume negotiations, not to fuel the senselessness of war.”

Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Participants in the General Chapters of the Basilian Order of St Josaphat - 14 July 2022

I would not like to end without expressing my closeness to you, dear Ukrainian Basilian brothers, in this moment of pain, in this moment of martyrdom of your homeland. I would like to tell you that I am close to you, the whole Church is close, all of you. We accompany you as we can in your pain. I often think that one of the greatest dangers now is to forget the drama of Ukraine. One gets used to it, one gets used to it... and then it is not so important and one talks... In recent days, I saw in the newspaper that the news about the war was on page 9! It's not a problem of interest, and this is bad, it’s bad. That is why we are close to you and we must all look to them because they are suffering martyrdom right now. You are suffering martyrdom. And I hope that the Lord will have compassion on you and in another way be close to you with peace and the gift of peace.