An estimated one-third of Ukraine’s population has been forced from their homes since Russia’s invasion in February, including more than 7.1 million people who have been internally displaced, according to United Nations figures, illustrating the scale of a humanitarian crisis that has gone largely unseen. the war continues. The number of internally displaced people dwarfs the 4.8 million Ukrainians who have fled to Europe as refugees, according to the UN refugee agency, which has described levels of displacement not seen since World War II. While large areas of the country were subjected to the brutality of the Russian invasion in its first weeks, most of Ukraine’s displaced people now come from the east, as that region becomes the center of the conflict. Boarding trains and buses, citizens poured out of cities and towns across eastern Ukraine, fleeing the relative safety of the western and northern capital, Kiev. Some have fled in humanitarian convoys, crossing treacherous roads amid the threat of gunfire or shelling. Others have fled on foot, literally running for their lives. And as Russian forces now train their artillery in Donetsk province in the east, aiming to capture the entire industrial area of Donbass, more people are being forced to flee their homes every day. “The state was not ready for such a scale of displaced people in many regions,” Vitaly Muzychenko, deputy minister of social policy for Ukraine, said at a press conference this week where he announced new plans to register displaced people for state benefits. Accounting for those in need is a challenge: Just three million people are officially registered as internally displaced, though the actual number is believed to be more than double that. The lack of international humanitarian support has further strained local resources. This mass displacement has reshaped communities across the country, even those that have escaped the natural devastation of war. Shelters have sprung up in public buildings, university dormitories have been converted and some modular homes have been set up to house the displaced. The majority of internally displaced people, like refugees, are women and children, and many face shortages of food, water and basic necessities, according to UN experts. Oksana Zelinska, 40, who was the director of a kindergarten in the southern city of Kherson, now occupied by Russian forces, fled in April with her two children, a partner and the woman’s children to the nearby western city of Uzhhorod. on the Slovakian border. Her husband has stayed back in Kherson and she would like to return, but said she is staying in the west for her children. “When we came here, I had to do something, it was difficult and I didn’t want to sit around depressed,” he said. “I wanted to be useful.” He began volunteering at the community kitchen he had used when he first arrived, peeling potatoes and preparing food for the dozens who visit each day for a hot meal. Helping displaced people return to their homes — or find new ones — looms as one of Ukraine’s biggest challenges, regardless of the outcome of the war. Some of their cities may not return to Ukrainian control. Others that are recaptured could be almost entirely destroyed, with homes, water lines and other vital infrastructure pulverized by the Russian army’s scorched-earth tactics. The government of Ukraine has estimated reconstruction needs at $750 billion. This week, President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to allies for support, describing the effort as “a shared task of the entire democratic world.” On Tuesday, the United States joined more than 40 governments and multilateral organizations in signing a framework agreement at a conference in Switzerland to help mobilize hundreds of billions of dollars for Ukraine’s recovery, including long-term reconstruction. It was not at all clear whether these commitments would be realized in funds and how soon. But the meeting’s host, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis, said the pledges “should give people in Ukraine hope and assurance that they are not alone.” — Megan Spezia and Nick Cumming-Bruce
