Almost two years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) described the humanitarian situation in that country as very serious and warned that aid is slowing down, DPA and Agerpres report.

“These airstrikes are carried out every day, especially in front-line areas and cities. And every time they hit, they basically cause some kind of destruction that affects the civilian population. So many people are left homeless and displaced,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told the German Press Agency in Kyiv.

The head of the UNHCR spent a week visiting aid projects in Odesa, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Kyiv.

Ukrainian society appeared very strong and united after the Russian invasion, but two years later the tension is palpable.

“These fractures are beginning to show, and of course there is a risk that if international support in all its forms diminishes, these fractures will become wider,” Grundy said.

In 2022 and 2023, the work of UNHCR and other aid organizations was well financed, the Italian UN diplomat noted. But this year there is a risk of cuts.

The war in Ukraine has lost international attention, and the war in Gaza dominates the media. And in the case of the three main donors – Germany, the USA and the EU – the amount of aid for Ukraine has not yet been finally determined.

“The priority is really housing, repairs, everything that allows people to have a place to stay,” Grundy said of UNHCR’s work in Ukraine.

“Put new windows, because the windows are constantly broken. It’s very frustrating to do this all the time because more destruction is coming,” he stressed.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022, UNHCR, together with other humanitarian organizations and Ukrainian departments, has repaired 27,500 houses.

Repairs and reconstruction are also important to allow refugees from Germany and other countries to return, Grundy said. A database is being developed with Ukraine, through which refugees will be able to find out “where to get materials, where to subsidize.”

According to Grundy, according to UN estimates, there are 3.7 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine and another 6.3 million refugees in other countries. “Ten million people who do not live in their homes,” said the High Commissioner.

Among them are 1.3 million Ukrainians in Russia. This was reported by the government in Moscow.

UNHCR’s access to them is “very limited”. “It’s actually not zero, in the sense that we have some contact with some of them,” Grundy said. Between 70,000 and 80,000 people have been contacted through visits and phone calls, he said.

____

• Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro