Weekly Update #99
 January 22, 2024

REFUGEE SITUATION

(as of 31 December 2023)

General Figures


Refugees from Ukraine recorded across Europe 

5,953,500

Last updated December 31 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

403,600

Last updated November 28 2023

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

6,357,100

Last updated December 31 2024

 

Source: UNHCR collation of statistics made available by the authorities

THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE


World Health Organization releases status report of response addressing healthcare needs of Ukraine

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a report that will be presented to its Executive Board on 22 January 2024 on its response to the impacts of the conflict with Russia on its healthcare system. This comprehensive report aims to serve as a springboard for transitioning the WHO response from an emergency response towards long-term sustainable development.  In addition, lessons learned from the Ukraine experience would be valuable to developing effective implementation of health responses for refugee-hosting countries.

 

Following are the report highlights:

 

Impacts of the war on health

Access to primary data on mortality and morbidity has greatly improved through the Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System launched by WHO in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.  The system prioritized health facilities in Ukraine’s frontline oblasts, and by September 2023, the system had catalogued data from over 2000 health facilities registered as distinct legal entities and 82% of around 9500 health service delivery units affiliated with these legal entities.

 

Improved data have consequently resulted in obtaining better assessments of the scope of the needs of the health system, including:




 

Since February 2022, the associated risks and vulnerabilities arising from various forms of gender-based violence including conflict-related sexual violence, sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking and domestic violence have sharply increased.

 

Following the damage in the Kakhovka dam, flooding affected 80 settlements in Kherson and Mykolaiv, impacting 100,000 residents and causing disrupted drinking water for 1 million people, electricity outages for a further 140,000 people and environmental damage in protected and forested areas.

 

The damage further exacerbated health care challenges in the region, with recovery needs estimated at US$ 30.9 million for the initial year and an additional US$ 69.1 million for longer-term measures.

 

Disease outbreaks, such as hepatitis A, in frontline communities, highlighted the need to establish robust health systems and infrastructure in highly affected communities.  These regions are more susceptible to such outbreaks owing to the weakened health infrastructure, suboptimal sanitation and limited access to safe water, which combined create an environment conducive to the spread of infectious diseases.

 

 

WHO support to the humanitarian and emergency health response

WHO has performed significant roles in boosting the service provision capacities of the Ministry of Health.  These include:

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Priority Health Threats of Ukraine

 The Ministry of Health and WHO released a Public Health Situation Analysis (PHSA) summarizing the major health issues of Ukraine.  This report has collated available data at the time of publication.

 

This table summarises the risk profile (in terms of excess morbidity and mortality) of different health problems impacting the war-affected population, grouped into major disease types. It also carries anticipated changes in the risk level of these problems in the next 6 months. Again, conflict-affected oblasts present higher risk profiles compared to those minimally or not affected by conflict.

 

Although frontline oblasts have very high trauma-related risk, it is possible to have high trauma related incidents in non- frontline oblasts due to the hits from active airstrikes as part of the ongoing conflict as observed in winter.

 

 

Health System Needs

 Various disruptions of the local health system continue to affect delivery of preventive and curative health services. These are summarised in this table.

Notes:

* Khersonska, Zaporizka, Donetska, Kharkivska, Odeska, Mykolaivska, Dnipropetrovska, Sumska, and Chernihivska

Red: The majority of the health system feature / health service has been or could be rendered non-functional. Most people / patients do not have access to healthcare. A major reduction in health service coverage or quality could occur.

Orange: A substantial minority of the health system feature / health service has been or could be rendered non-functional. A substantial minority of people / patients do not have access to healthcare. A moderate reduction in health service coverage or quality could occur

Yellow: A small minority of the health system feature / health service has been or could be rendered non-functional. A small minority of people / patients do not have access to healthcare. A small reduction

in health service coverage or quality could occur

Green: The vast majority or entirety of the health system feature / health service is very probably still as functional as before the crisis. No risk factors for reduction in health service coverage or quality

have been identified

Grey: No plausible assessment can be made at this time


Humanitarian Health Response

The health cluster will be focusing on the coordination of the response in the East, Southern and Northern Oblasts where there is active conflict and where the needs are high in the next 6 months.

All efforts will be closely coordinated with the Ministry of Health at all levels while improving the quality of services offered. This response will be aligned with the targeting as portrayed in the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for 2024.

The primary goal of the health cluster will be to provide integrated health services with a strengthened community component and home-based approach in the most severely affected regions. This response will prioritize Essential Health Services by strengthening Emergency Medical Services and Primary Health Care including MHPSS, sexual and reproductive health (SRH), as well as maternal and child health care (MCH), including specialized assistance for survivors of GBV. 

Other relevant areas related to Infection Prevention and Control, Immunization and Health promotion, RCCE, trauma and rehabilitation care, provision of lifesaving medications and capacity building will be strengthened.

Primary health care, especially critical in frontline areas, will be provided through outreach services (mobile units) in support of existing static health facilities. Minimal infrastructural repairs will be done to ensure the provision of services with dignity. Wherever possible, the capacities of local actors and volunteers will be fortified to provide needed services. Health partner support will continue to align with Ministry of health guidelines at the various levels to enhance early prevention measures, detection, and response to diseases with outbreak potential as well as in line with the ‘one health’ approach. Preparedness for the management of cases of trauma and mass casualty incidents related to nuclear risks will be prioritized.

All the response efforts of emergency health actors will be anchored to align with the continuum of services provided by development actors as part of the nexus. During the coming months, the health cluster will strengthen supervision of partner activities to ensure that the strategy is implemented accordingly by partners and that opportunities for the nexus and synergy are maximized and that accountability to the served population is enforced in partner projects.

Sources: Health Cluster, WHO 

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New supplies and training improve vaccine storage in Ukraine

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its partners continue to support Ukraine’s immunization programme by supplying special equipment that will enable vaccines to be stored at carefully controlled temperatures.

Storage conditions directly impact the effectiveness of a vaccine and most vaccines must be stored at low temperatures. To modernize this cold chain, UNICEF is replacing outdated household refrigerators with special equipment that meets international standards recommended by WHO and UNICEF.

Furthermore, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Global COVAX Initiative, UNICEF is conducting training for healthcare workers on how to use this new equipment and to expand their knowledge of vaccine storage and its transportation.

Previously, almost all vaccination points in Ukraine were equipped with domestic refrigerators that could not guarantee the correct temperature regime.

The new equipment guarantees precise temperatures and features a voltage stabilizer. Temperatures are recorded every ten minutes and data is stored for a month. In case of power outage, the new refrigerators can still work for 55 to 113 hours, and will maintain the required temperature.

In total, UNICEF trained around 5,000 health workers across Ukraine.

As of the 2021 baseline assessment, approximately 93 per cent of vaccine storage sites in Ukraine were furnished with non-standardized equipment. Currently, thanks to UNICEF and other International partners, roughly 80 per cent of these sites are now equipped with standardized professional cold chain equipment and electronic temperature loggers. This is a critical step in efforts to ensure that children in Ukraine are vaccinated with effective vaccines and remain healthy.

Source: UNICEF

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Strengthening community-based mental health in Ukraine, learning from Italy

A 5-day study visit of Ukrainian mental health workers and experts to Italy, organized by WHO and its Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health at Giuliano Isontina University Health Authority (ASU GI) in Trieste, aimed to help develop mental health services in the war-torn country.

During the visit to the north-eastern region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the Ukrainian participants learned about a network of community-based mental health services in Trieste within the health system and beyond. There, mental health services are integrated into general health care, community mental health centres, multidisciplinary health teams, non-health settings and key social services

In Trieste’s neighbouring city of Udine, participants familiarized themselves with an age-friendly environment that sets out to support healthy ageing, mental health promotion and prevention of mental health issues among older adults.

Exchanges with service users and providers increased understanding of how Italian mental health services foster a sense of engagement, recovery, joint decision-making and connectedness within the community, all while promoting a safe, inclusive environment and combating the stigma and discrimination that are often linked to mental health issues.

Ms Oksana Zbitnieva, Head of the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine stressed the importance of learning from successful practices of other countries and combine them with Ukraine expertise.

Source: WHO

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Partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation to Enhance Healthcare Access in Ukraine

Project HOPE  is proud to partner with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to improve healthcare services in conflict-affected areas of Ukraine through the “Enhanced access of vulnerable populations to healthcare services in conflict-affected areas of Ukraine” project. This initiative covers six regions of Ukraine, including Donetsk, Kherson, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Mykolayiv, and will run through the end of July 2024.

The primary objectives of this collaboration are to ensure access to vital health care services for impacted communities and to enhance the health infrastructure in the war-affected regions.

The key activities of the partnership will include:

“The health infrastructure in conflict-affected areas has been strained, making it difficult for vulnerable populations to access essential healthcare services, especially in areas close to the frontline. This collaboration is not only about immediate relief but also about laying the groundwork for a resilient healthcare system that can withstand future challenges,” shared Vira Topikha, Project HOPE’s Program Specialist in Ukraine.

Helping the most vulnerable to access healthcare services remains a priority for Switzerland in Ukraine: “In the face of constant shelling and damage to the medical infrastructure, we must ensure that healthcare services know no boundaries in Ukraine. With our support, professional mobile teams will be able to reach the country’s most isolated communities, offering their residents medical care and medicine,” said Oleg Masyk, National Programme Officer at the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine.

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE is a leading global health and humanitarian organization operating in more than 25 countries around the world 

Sources: HOPE, SDC

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UKRAINE’S STATE BUDGET 

FOR CHILDREN 

Source: UNICEF

UPDATES ON INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE


US aid to Ukraine remains deadlocked in Congress despite Joe Biden signing on Friday a measure to keep the US government funded. Hard-right House Republicans, led by the speaker, Mike Johnson, are ensuring the chances of more money and weapons for Kyiv in its fight with Moscow hinge on negotiations for US immigration changes. After a Wednesday White House meeting, Johnson told reporters: “We understand that there’s concern about the safety, security and sovereignty of Ukraine. But the American people have those same concerns about our own domestic sovereignty and our safety and our security.” Many observers suggest Republicans do not want a deal, instead using the issue, and the concept of more aid for Ukraine, as clubs with which to attack Biden in an election year.

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France ramps up weapons production for Ukraine and says Russia is scrutinizing the West’s mettle. France announced more planned deliveries of its Caesar artillery system to Ukraine on Thursday and accelerating weapons manufacturing as it seeks to avoid depleting its own military stocks while continuing to support the war effort against Russia’s invasion.

 

France also launched a drive to fund the delivery of 78 Caesar self-propelled 155 mm howitzers to Ukraine this year. Ukraine has already paid for six of the guns itself and France will provide 50 million euros (US$ 54 million) to deliver 12 more, Lecornu said separately in a speech. France is also seeking 280 million euros ($305 million) from other allies of Ukraine to pay for the 60 other Caesars, the minister said.

Lecornu said increased supplies of shells for Ukraine are on their way. From this month, France will supply 3,000 shells for 155 mm guns per month, up from 1,000 shells per month at the start of the war and 2,000 per month since last April, Lecornu said

The production of other hardware is also increasing.

French manufacturer Nexter used to take 30 months to make one Caesar but now requires half that time, Lecornu told Le Parisien. Caesars are among an array of Western-supplied artillery systems that have given Ukrainian gun crews an edge, especially when paired with high-precision munitions, against Russian artillery batteries using older Soviet-designed systems.

More deliveries are promised. French President Emmanuel Macron this week announced plans to supply about 40 additional long-range Storm Shadow missiles and “several hundred bombs.” He also announced his intention to travel again to Ukraine next month, saying, “We cannot let Russia win.”

But because of concerns about depleting their own defenses with Russia increasingly gearing up for protracted war, France and other backers of Ukraine are seeking other ways to continue supplying Kyiv’s defense needs for the long haul.

Meanwhile, inside the White House, NATO headquarters and in Kyiv, there is a keen awareness that if Donald Trump is reelected in November, he will likely slash support for Kyiv.

 

No matter what happens in American politics this year, US and Western intelligence officials believe that Russia’s war in Ukraine is likely to go on for much longer.

Assessments vary, but virtually all of them assume that there will be at least two more years of fighting, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence — long enough to outlast Biden’s first term. Privately, some US and Western officials say there could be as many as five more years of fighting.

Administration officials and lawmakers, including some hawkish Republicans, have for that reason been eager to approve and channel the funding to Ukraine before the clock potentially runs out at the end of 2024.

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European Union (EU) Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton stated on January 20 that the EU will have the capacity to produce 1.3 to 1.4 million artillery shells by the end of 2024 and will ensure that it delivers the “majority” of the shells to Ukraine.  Breton stated that the EU will be able to produce one million shells per year by March or April 2024 and intends to “significantly” increase its shell production capacity in 2025.  NATO announced on January 19 that it plans to announce a major unspecified investment in artillery ammunition on January 23.

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 Continued Western support for Ukraine is critical, US and Western officials argue, even as the battle lines have remained largely static over the last several months following a failed Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory seized by Russia.

 

Still, in the short term, US intelligence officials don’t believe a drop-off in US funding will have a major battlefield impact for Ukraine. Russia is struggling to regroup, which buys Ukraine some time, people familiar with the assessments said. But in the longer term, a lack of US aid could allow Moscow to regain momentum by ramping up its weapons supply and taking advantage of support from Iran and North Korea, one of the people said.

US officials have also considered the impact that a pullback of US support could have on other allies, particularly the message it sends about the US not having the political will to support allies and partners long term. Another concern is that Europe, which is already at the bottom of the barrel of its weapons and ammunition supplies, follows the US lead and begins to withdraw some aid.

More immediately, an end to US funding for Ukraine could limit Ukraine’s ability to conduct long-range strikes into Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black Sea —strikes that have been supported by Western weapons, including US-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems, also known as ATACMS.

If that pipeline were to dry up, US officials believe that Ukraine could lose its ability to conduct some of its most high-profile operations, a person familiar with US intelligence assessments told CNN. Ukraine’s strikes on Russia’s Black Sea fleet last fall, which forced Russia to withdraw many of its ships from Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, have been seen as a particularly effective use of the Western-provided long-range missiles.

 

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Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told CNBC at Davos that the event had been very reassuring. The war in Ukraine is dominating conversations at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making the most of the opportunity to address the global business and political elite, including JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon.

Dimon said he and other business leaders met Zelenskyy on Tuesday to discuss “refinancing” the redevelopment of Ukraine once the war with Russia is over. “So, he is starting to think ahead,” Dimon said of the Ukrainian president.


Sources: AP News

CNN

ISW

CNN

The Guardian

CNBC

STATUS OF THE CONFLICT

(as of 11 January 2023)

More countries join talks on Ukraine leader’s peace formula. But Russia is absent and war grinds on.

Leaders of talks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula on Sunday said a growing number of countries are working to help set the groundwork for Russia to join one day, an admittedly distant goal as the nearly two-year war grinds on and with neither side willing to cede ground.

The fourth such meeting of national security advisers was held in the Swiss town of Davos, where Zelenskyy is set to attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting starting Tuesday. He will endeavor to keep up international focus on Ukraine’s defense amid eroding support for Kyiv in the West and swelling distractions like conflict in the Middle East.

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, posted photos of the meeting’s opening and hailed a “good sign” that the number of participants in a string of conferences on Zelenskyy’s peace formula was growing — nearly half from Europe, as well as 18 from Asia and 12 from Africa.

Zelenskyy has presented a 10-point peace formula that, among other things, seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes — at a time when the two sides are fighting from largely static positions along a roughly 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line. Such ideas are rejected out of hand by Moscow.

 

Yermak said that if Ukraine’s territorial integrity — now violated by Russia including through illegal annexations — isn’t restored, “soon other aggressors elsewhere in the world will be able to seize parts of other countries and start staging fake elections there.”

 

At a final news conference, Yermak said the purpose of the meeting — the last in a series — was to discuss issues like an eventual Russian withdrawal, a path to justice, environmental security and ultimately how the war might be declared over.

 

The talks aimed to build on previous such closed-door efforts in Denmark, Saudi Arabia and Malta last summer and fall. Any peace deal naturally will require Russian participation — and Moscow isn’t represented in the discussions.

 

The last round, in Malta in October, involved envoys from 65 countries.

 

Russian forces have recently stepped up missile and drone attacks that have stretched Ukraine’s air defense resources, leaving the country vulnerable in the nearly 23-month war unless it can secure further weapons supplies.


Source: AP News

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Ukraine war: What Russia's escalating air attacks mean

On Tuesday night President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched 500 missiles and drones against Ukraine in just five days.

 

At least 32 people have died in Ukraine's capital in that time, 30 of them in one attack - on 29 December, when Russia launched one of the largest ever aerial attacks of this war.

 

And it's not just the capital. Nearly 60 people have been killed nationwide, with Kharkiv in the northeast, Zaporizhzhia in the south, Odesa on the southern coast and even Lviv in the far west all suffering strikes.

Since launching its invasion Russia has never stopped attacking Ukraine by the air, but this latest series of strikes marks a deadly escalation. What does this new phase in the war mean for Ukraine? And what's the plan behind Russia's renewed aerial assault?

 

Changing tactics

Ukraine has not seen attacks as heavy as this since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. And what's different is not just the size of the strikes - it's the tactics.

 

The attack on 2 January lasted for six hours in Kyiv. The Russians launched a wave of drones at the capital. Ukraine's air force said it was able to shoot down all 35 of them.

 

But this was followed up with missile attacks, using different kinds of weapons in a bid to overwhelm and break through the city's defences.

Missiles have struck the very heart of Kyiv in these last five days, for the first time in months.

 

That means using different kinds of missiles - hypersonic, cruise, and ballistic - but also firing these missiles along different routes. These weapons can change direction in the air over Ukraine, causing further headaches for air defence.

Russia is also varying its focus. On 29 December, it aimed its weapons at cities across the country - on 2 January, just at Kyiv and Kharkiv.

 

Analysis carried out by Ukrainian media suggests the attack on 29 December cost $1.273bn (£1.01bn) alone - while the attack on 2 January cost an extra $620 million (£491m), according to Forbes magazine.

 

Ukraine had feared ahead of the winter that Russia was stockpiling weapons for large-scale attacks. Analysis published in Le Monde quotes Ukrainian officials who said Russia still has in its stockpile around 1,000 ballistic or cruise missiles, and is able to make around 100 more per month - such as Kalibrs and Kh-101s.

 

With US aid bogged down in political infighting and the EU failing to produce even half of the one million artillery shells it promised by the end of 2023, Russia may well be launching these vast attacks at a time when Ukraine's supplies could be drying up.


Source: BBC

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The Financial Times (FT) reported on January 19 that US officials are advocating for Ukraine to take a more “conservative” operational approach focused on holding current territory and generating materiel and forces in 2024 for future counteroffensive operations in 2025. One US official reportedly argued that a strategy of “active defense” would allow Ukraine to build out operational requirements and prepare for a counteroffensive in 2025. US military doctrine defines an active defense as the ”employment of limited offensive action and counterattacks to deny a contested area or position to the enemy.”  Ukrainian officials have stated that Ukrainian forces are conducting active defensive operations in areas where Russian forces are engaged in localized offensive efforts. An active defense throughout the theater, however, would require routine and widespread Ukrainian counterattacks and therefore still demand that Ukrainian forces commit considerable offensive capabilities to the front. FT reported that US officials believe that Ukrainian forces still could opportunistically exploit weak spots in the Russian defense while conducting a theater-wide active defense.

 

A theater-wide defensive posture would cede the strategic initiative to Russia and permit Russia to launch major attacks at times of its choosing, forcing Ukraine to burn scarce resources it would supposedly be generating during a period of “active defense.” Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zahorodnyuk stated to FT that focusing on defense without any offensive component would be ”a mistake of historic proportions” for Ukraine as it would hand Russian President Vladimir Putin the initiative and allow Putin to double down on ongoing efforts to convince the West and the rest of the world that Ukraine cannot win the war.


Source: ISW

 

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Ukraine is accused by Russia of being behind a drone strike that sparked a huge inferno at an oil depot in western Russia on Friday, the latest in a series of escalating cross-border attacks. Russian officials and news reports said four oil reservoirs with a total capacity of 6,000 cubic metres (1.6m gallons) were set on fire at the oil refinery after the drone reached Klintsy, a city of 70,000 people located about 60km (40 miles) from the Ukrainian border. Air defences electronically jammed the drone but it dropped its explosive payload on the facility,

 

Landmines once again surround the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is in Russian hands, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday. Europe’s largest nuclear facility fell to Russian forces shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of planning an incident at the site. “Mines along the perimeter of the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant) ... are now back in place,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement.

 

Russia is increasing the intensity of offensive actions in Ukraine, UK says.

Russian forces have been steadily increasing the intensity of their offensive activity across the front in Ukraine over the past two weeks, the British Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update.

 

"A key enabler for this is highly likely the freezing ground conditions, which allows cross-country movement of armored vehicles," the update said.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported on January 19 that Russian attacks on the front line had increased by 27% compared to the previous day, according to the British ministry.

 

Additional data from the Ukrainian General Staff comparing the period of January 14-18 with the previous five-day period supports this increase in Russian assaults, the update said.

 

Sources: The Guardian

The Guardian

DW

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Russian efforts to increase its military presence in Belarus and further integrate Belarus into Russian-favorable frameworks and Wagner Group activity in Belarus. Belarusian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin stated on January 19 that the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus is part of Belarus’ strategic deterrence.[125] Khrenin stressed that Belarus’ updated military doctrine, which the Belarusian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on January 16, aims to prevent military and political situations from escalating and considers Russian tactical nuclear weapons as deterrence mechanisms.


Source: ISW

HOLY FATHER ON UKRAINE

Angelus - January 21, 2024 (Sunday)

In these days, let us pray especially for Christian unity, and let us never tire of invoking the Lord for peace in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, and in many other parts of the world: it is always the weakest who suffer the lack of it. I am thinking of the little ones, of the many injured and killed children, of those deprived of affection, deprived of dreams and of a future. Let us feel the responsibility to pray and build peace for them!

In questi giorni preghiamo specialmente per l’unità dei cristiani e non stanchiamoci di invocare il Signore per la pace in Ucraina, in Israele e in Palestina, e in tante altre parti del mondo: a soffrirne la mancanza sono sempre i più deboli. Penso ai piccoli, ai tantissimi bambini feriti e uccisi, a quelli privati di affetti, privati di sogni e di futuro. Sentiamo la responsabilità di pregare e di costruire la pace per loro!

Links to the full text in ENGLISH and ITALIAN

General Audience - January 17, 2024

And let us not forget the countries that are at war, let us not forget Ukraine, let us not forget Palestine, Israel, let us not forget the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip who are suffering so much. Let us pray for so many victims of war, so many victims. War always destroys, war does not sow love, it sows hatred. War is a true human defeat. Let us pray for the people who suffer in war.

E non dimentichiamo i Paesi che sono in guerra, non dimentichiamo l’Ucraina, non dimentichiamo la Palestina, Israele, non dimentichiamo gli abitanti della Striscia di Gaza che soffrono tanto. Preghiamo per tante vittime della guerra, tante vittime. La guerra distrugge sempre, la guerra non semina amore, semina odio. La guerra è una vera sconfitta umana. Preghiamo per la gente che soffre nella guerra.

Links to the full text in ENGLISH and  ITALIAN

MEMBER PHOTOS

Young Ukrainian refugees await registration at a border (Courtesy of ICMC)

Since the war began, thousands of displaced people – mostly women, children, and some elderly if they were physically able to flee – have been sheltering in the various monasteries, seminaries, and convents in the diocese of Ivano-Frankivsk. (courtesy of ICMC)