Weekly Update #73
July 24

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

353,100

Last updated July 1 2023

Refugees from Ukraine recorded globally

6,221,100

Last updated July 18 2023

Source: UNHCR collation of statistics made available by the authorities

STATUS OF THE CONFLICT

Critical Incidents

A wave of Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine during the last two weeks, including an attack on a residential complex in Lviv on 5 - 6 July which killed at least 10 people and injured 48 others. This was followed by an attack in Orikhiv town in Zaporizka oblast on 10 July at an aid distribution point, leaving at least four people dead.
On 17 July, an attack on the Crimean bridge linking mainland Ukraine to the Crimean Peninsula also occurred, killing three and causing part of the structure to collapse.
On 18 July, the Russian Federation launched several strikes on Odesa in what Ukrainian authorities described as among the largest aerial attacks on the port city.
Russian strikes on Odesa damaged the Orthodox cathedral. The historical Transfiguration Cathedral was badly damaged by the strikes. The building is Odesa's largest Orthodox church and was consecrated in 1809. It was demolished by the Soviet Union in 1939, before being re-built in 2003.At least one person has been killed and 19 more injured in fresh Russian missile strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, officials have said.
Moscow has notably stepped up attacks on the port city since it withdrew from the UN backed grain deal on Monday and Ukraine has accused it of targeting grain supplies and infrastructure vital to the deal. A strike earlier this week destroyed some 60,000 tonnes of grain, officials said. Odesa is Ukraine's biggest port, and millions of tonnes of grain have been shipped from its docks under the terms of the deal. The deal - brokered by Turkey and the UN - between Russia and Ukraine was struck in July 2022, allowing cargo ships to sail along a corridor in the Black Sea.

Sources: UNHCR

BBC

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Ukraine counter-offensive continues

Ukrainian forces have continued their counter-offensive operations on Bakhmut's northern and southern flanks and made gains in some areas.

Most of what is left of the eastern city of Bakhmut - which has endured some of the heaviest fighting of the war - has been under Russian control for several months. Elsewhere on the front line, Ukraine has continued operations in several areas in the eastern Donetsk and south-eastern Zaporizhzhia regions, with officials reporting slow advances in several areas.

Russia has taken a mostly defensive stance in southern Ukraine, but Kyiv's forces say they're facing fierce attacks all along the eastern front in the Luhansk region. Ukrainian drones hit an ammunition dump in Crimea on Saturday, according to its Russian-installed leader. Kyiv has launched a series of recent attacks on the annexed peninsula, which it vows to reclaim.

Meanwhile, the US has confirmed Ukraine has started to use US-supplied cluster bombs and said they were being used "effectively" on Russian defensive positions and operations. Cluster bombs scatter multiple bomblets and are banned by more than 100 states due to their threat to civilians. The US decided to send cluster bombs after Ukraine warned that it was running out of ammunition

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Ukrainian army's ongoing counteroffensive is expected to "gain pace" after a slow start Ukrainian forces hit an ammunition dump in Crimea on Saturday, forcing an evacuation of the area and canceling train services, according to information from Russian-backed authorities.

It marks the latest in a series of recent strikes on Russian supplies and critical infrastructure in the Russian-occupied peninsula.

Sources: ISW (July 21)

BBC

CNN

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Russian Federation Attacks on Ukrainian Ports Risk Far-Reaching Impacts for Food in Developing Countries

The Russian Federation’s attacks on Ukrainian port facilities are a further blow to global food security following Moscow’s decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on Friday, as speakers condemned attempts to weaponize food and the politicization of humanitarian need.

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said that the Russian Federation’s decision to terminate its participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative added to existing agricultural, energy and financial crises that are already severely impacting the world’s most vulnerable people.

Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, similarly pointed out that higher prices will be most acutely felt by families in developing countries, who tend to spend a much higher share of their household income on food. Global grain prices have spiked, threatening to undo the hard-won progress achieved over the past year and push millions of people into hunger. Wheat and corn futures have risen by almost 9 and 8 per cent, respectively, and 19 July saw the largest single-day increase in wheat prices since the full-scale invasion commenced.

As Council members took the floor, many warned against the repercussions of the Russian Federation’s termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, also condemning Moscow’s recent strikes against facilities in Odesa and other Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Some spotlighted the global reach of the likely effects of these events, urging a return both to the initiative and to peace talks.

Source: United Nations

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

Overall Trend (March 2022-May 2023)

Total Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

5,088,000

Last updated May 24 2023

Source: UNHCR

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

Since 24 February 2022 to 16 July 2023

25,671 civilian casualties in the country

9,287 killed and
16,384 injured.

This included:

20,712 casualties (7,212 killed and 13,500 injured) in territory controlled by the Government when casualties occurred:
4,959 casualties (2,075 killed and 2,884 injured) in territory occupied by the Russian Federation when casualties occurred

From 1 to 16 July 2023

416 civilian casualties in Ukraine:

74 killed (36 men, 32 women, as well as 6 adults whose sex is not yet known), and
342 injured (133 men, 115 women, 7 boys, 7 girls, as well as 6 children and 74 adults whose sex is not yet known).

Source: United Nations

THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Humanitarians reached 7.3 million people in Ukraine with vital aid in the first six months of 2023

Highlights of the statement attributable to Saviano Abreu, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affaris in Ukraine

Since the escalation of the war in February 2022, the UN and our humanitarian partners have worked intensively to ensure people suffering from the consequences of this ferocious war can get some support, some relief. Last year, 16 million people in Ukraine received assistance from the UN and our partners.

This work continues in 2023 and in the first six months of the year, humanitarians provided vital aid and protection services to nearly 7.3 million people. This is almost 2 million more than what we reported in May. Regrettably, only 4 per cent of the people reached live in areas under the military control of the Russian Federation, as impediments imposed on aid workers hamper life-saving activities in these areas.
Across the country, critical health care – as we all know these services have been decimated in the east and south – was provided to 5 million people and around 3 million people had access to clean water and hygiene products amidst increased shortages, particularly in areas affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.
Humanitarian partners have also provided food to over 3.7 million people and reached 3.3 million people with emergency shelter or critical household items.
Around 1 million children who fled their homes and whose schools are not fully functional have received support to continue their education. Our colleagues providing protection services, including counselling, legal services, mine-awareness campaigns and services to prevent gender-based violence and support survivors reached more than 1 million people.
And last but not least, 2.5 million people – including over 20,000 people affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam – have received multipurpose cash assistance, crucial support for people whose income and livelihoods have been impacted by the war.

At least five humanitarian workers were killed in the line of duty in Ukraine in the first six months of 2023, compared to four fatalities recorded in all of 2022, and nearly 100 incidents impacting humanitarian operations were reported, more than half of them with a moderate or severe impact on the delivery of assistance. This is an average of one incident every other day, highlighting the complex environment humanitarian organizations in Ukraine face.

Access to Ukrainians in areas currently under the military control of the Russian Federation continues to be a challenge. The humanitarian community remains firmly committed to continuing all efforts to deliver support where it is needed the most.

To this end, support from the international community is crucial. Just below 30 per cent of the US$3.9 billion requested in the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan has been received by humanitarian organizations in Ukraine. Aid workers in Ukraine urgently need more funding now to ensure life-saving operations will not stop.

Source: OCHA

UNHCR 2023 RESPONSE in NUMBERS

Delivered with partners from 1 January to 30 June 2023

Wheat prices surge after Russia ends grain deal

Russia’s withdrawal from a critically important wartime deal that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea has reignited fears about global food security, with analysts describing the initiative’s demise as both an inevitable setback and a blow to markets.

Hours before the agreement’s expiry, Russia said Monday that it would not renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The agreement, which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations in July of last year following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was a rare diplomatic breakthrough designed to avert a global food crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated these complaints over a weekend call with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying that the key objective of supplying grain to countries in need, including those on the African continent, had not been achieved.

Wheat, corn and soybean prices all rose on the news. A leading economist said the end of the grain deal will add to other upward pressures on food prices, such as drought in Europe and the onset of El Nino. The markets most affected by the deal’s collapse will be states in North Africa and the Levant that import large volumes of grain from the Black Sea region.

Since being signed in July last year, the U.N. says the Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed more than 32 million metric tons of food commodities to be exported from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports — Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, previously known as Yuzhny — to 45 countries worldwide.

Source: CNBC

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EU HUMANITARIAN FUNDING TO UKRAINE IN 2023 PER SECTOR

Since 24 February 2022 the European Commission has allocated €685 million to address immediate humanitarian needs in Ukraine. This aid has been channeled through the EU’s humanitarian partners on the ground, including UN agencies, Red Cross and International NGOs.

Source: United Nations

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Swedish Government adopts new development assistance strategy for Ukraine

The Government has adopted a new strategy for Sweden’s recovery and reform cooperation with Ukraine for 2023–2027. The strategy will provide a total of approximately EUR 522 million (SEK 6 billion) and is Sweden’s largest-ever bilateral development assistance strategy.

Focusing on both recovery and reform, the strategy will contribute to Ukraine’s EU integration and strengthen its freedom, resilience and economic prosperity.

To harness Sweden’s added value as a donor, the strategy includes areas where Sweden is at the forefront, such as the green transition, social issues and digital transformation. In addition to development assistance, business sector engagement will be important to mobilise the necessary resources.

The Strategy for Sweden’s recovery and reform cooperation with Ukraine encompasses five support areas:

recovery, focusing on critical infrastructure, essential social services and rehabilitation
the green transition and sustainable development
inclusive economic development, entrepreneurship and trade
security and stabilisation
human rights, democracy, the rule of law and gender equality.

The implementing agencies are the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swedish Institute (SI) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA).

Source: Swedish Government

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Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and UNDP sign Memorandum of Understanding on inclusive, green and transparent recovery process

The Foreign Minister of Ukraine, and the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding that will allow scaling up UNDP efforts to help Ukraine implement short and long- term recovery projects, including in the areas of war risk insurance, demining, recovering energy infrastructure, support to small and medium-size businesses, and strengthening institutional capacities.

The Memorandum details UNDP and Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry commitment to cooperating in areas of common interest, through “advancing sustained and inclusive economic growth, reducing inequality, and building strong institutions during the recovery process in Ukraine.”

The parties also agree to work together on increasing the resilience of Ukraine’s governance structures and social fabric in the face of the multi- facetted crisis resulting from the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Source: UNDP

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UNDP, Canada and Sweden empower communities in Ukraine to provide inclusive support and promote active ageing

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, in partnership with the governments of Canada and Sweden, has opened 11 social adaptation spaces in Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy oblasts.

These spaces, equipped with state-of-the- art facilities and supported by dedicated experts, were set up to provide crucial support and assistance to persons with disabilities, older people, and those in need.

The social adaptation spaces exemplify the synergy between local communities and international allies. While the communities undertook the renovation at their expense, UNDP, together with Canada and Sweden, procured essential equipment, including furniture, laptops, sensory art therapy tools, smart TVs, air conditioners and thermal mats.

This initiative aligns with state policies, including the National Strategy for Creating a Barrier-Free Environment in Ukraine, while strengthening existing social adaptation programmes. The primary objective of the social adaptation spaces is to enhance the provision of social services at local level, enabling individuals to adapt effectively to changing circumstances.

These spaces offer a range of activities, encompassing psychological and behavioural correction services, social skills training, self-help group organization, participation in hobby and active longevity clubs, as well as facilitating daytime employment and leisure pursuits.

This unique program aligns with the objectives of Canada, Sweden, and UNDP to enable older people to re-integrate with their new settings and to foster resilience in times of war.

Source: UNDP

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Fresh homes and fresh starts for families in Chernihiv

Losing one’s home and community is devastating. But it is a reality for some 1.4 million households across Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2023. One-third of these homes are damaged beyond repair.

In order to provide these families and communities with a roof over their heads while their destroyed home is being repaired, UNHCR is providing core homes to war-affected families.

Chernihivska oblast, located to the northeast of Kyiv and bordering the Russian Federation and Belarus, was massively impacted in March and April of 2022 by the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. According to the second [Ukraine Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (February 2022 – February 2023), as much as USD 1,833 million in damages was inflicted on the housing stock.

At the same time, Chernihivska oblast is one of the areas that was quickly retaken by the Ukrainian government and today, it has security conditions conducive to recovery and durable solutions.

A core home is a prefabricated house (see photos) for those who have lost their homes entirely that is delivered and installed on their land, or on locally available plots in their communities in existing neighbourhoods, and within the existing social and physical infrastructure. They are simple to maintain and have the full functionality of a home (standard kitchen, furniture, toilet, bathroom, and appliances).

UNDP is completing the the pilot batch of 100 core homes. All 100 were produced locally by a Ukrainian company and with care and maintenance can last a generation. They are also adapted to the Ukrainian climate, to keep comfortable indoor temperatures throughout the year.

HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE

Angelus - July 23, 2023 (Sunday)

And let us continue to pray for peace, especially for dear Ukraine, which continues to suffer death and destruction, as unfortunately occurred last night in Odessa.

E continuiamo a pregare per la pace, in modo speciale per la cara Ucraina, che continua a subire morte e distruzione, come purtroppo è accaduto anche questa notte a Odessa.

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