In Ukraine, more than 6.5 million people have been internally displaced by Russian attacks. They had to leave their homes, apartments, villages and towns because of the rocket attacks and bombings, the UN Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Monday.
In addition, almost 3.5 million people have fled across borders to neighboring countries in the three and a half weeks since the war began, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This means that practically a quarter of the former population is affected. Around 44 million people lived in Ukraine before the Russian invasion began. At least 186,000 people from other countries were among the refugees.
According to the IOM, 13.5 percent of those who fled had already been expelled, in 2014 or 2015. At that time, fighting erupted in the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east of the country and Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. Hundreds of thousands of people had to flee.
According to the IOM, the displaced people primarily need medication, medical care and cash. Among them are many particularly vulnerable people: pregnant and breastfeeding women, the elderly, people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and people directly affected by violence.