The number of internally displaced persons in Ukraine has reached 8 million people. The number of refugees who have left Ukraine since February 24th is close to 7 million people according to the UNHCR. While 2 million have returned home, the recent terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructure and residential areas in Vinnitsya and Kramatorsk clearly demonstrate that Russia intends to leave no safe place in Ukraine, having used all types of missiles since February 24th. In such circumstances, many people have left their homes behind with no knowledge of when they will see them again or if there even will be a home to return to.
For some Ukrainians this struggle is familiar. With the initial Russian invasion in 2014, residents of occupied territories in Crimea, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions moved to other Ukrainian cities. Some have settled in Kyiv or other towns in central part of Ukraine – however, many chose to remain close to their initial home, in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, on the government-controlled territories. Some of these people, particularly those chose Mariupol, did not survive. Some are luckier, although their situation is hardly ideal – after February 24th many of them have lost their new homes, new friends, new lives, being left with nothing once more.
Their fates are yet another grim testimony to the fact that aggression cannot be tolerated and aggressor cannot be appeased. Having an opportunity to regroup and gather forces, it will attack again, inflicting more pain and suffering that people of Ukraine have already experienced to the fullest. Ukraine In Flames #128 is about their personal stories.
Speakers:
- Serhii Okishev, journalist from Severodonetsk
- Maryna Tereshchenko, journalist from Severodonetsk
- Serhii Tkachenko, Project manager Council of Europe Office in Ukraine.
UKRAINE IN FLAMES project is created by Ukraine Crisis Media Center, Ukrainian Catholic University’s analitical center and NGO “Euroatlantic Course”. We are aiming at searching a loud support for Ukraine in the war started by Russia on the 24th of February 2022.
If you want to support Ukraine against Russian aggression, check the link with recommendations by Ukraine Crisis Media Center – https://uacrisis.org/en/help-ukraine.
NGO Euroatlantic Course collects donations to support Ukrainian Army and civilians – https://eac.org.ua/en/main-page/.