Since the escalation of the war in February 2022, until mid-October 2024, nearly 6.8 million refugees4 from Ukraine have been recorded – 92 per cent of them in Europe. Inside Ukraine, an estimated 3.6 million people5 remain internally displaced as of October 2024.
Among the most vulnerable are also an estimated 12.6 million as of March 2025 people who were not displaced from their homes but who have been directly affected by the war – they have been wounded, their homes have been destroyed, their family members died.
Civilian infrastructure, such as power grids, water supply networks. hospitals transportation infrastructure, have been targeted by the daily missile attacks, severely disrupting people’s lives across the whole country, and particularly in the East.
01.03.2022
We spent another night near Chyriv in Ukraine. On the way to the border crossing in Krościenko, we received information that a mother with two children was stuck in her car 4 km from the border on the Ukrainian side. The woman had run out of fuel. All of it was used up by the heating system, which she had to use for two days while waiting to cross. She also ran out of food. The situation was very difficult.
An hour later, we arrived at our destination. We gave Anna a thermos of hot tea, provisions for a few days, warm blankets and, above all, fuel so that she could continue her journey. “The Polish people are an extraordinary, wonderful nation. We are brothers and sisters,” she repeated, unable to hide her emotions. Her life had suddenly been shattered when an Iskander ballistic missile struck her home district of Kiev yesterday. Her husband remained in the area. He survived the blast, but his wife is very worried about him. Before we parted, she said that just after our meeting, she would invite another mother and her child into her van from a car a few dozen metres away in the queue and that together they would have their first meal in days.
Tonight the biggest challenge for everyone waiting on the other side of the border was the temperature. The bitter cold and the need to warm up the car engine forced people to risk running out of fuel. Those feeling the effects of the temperatures were asking for a cup of hot tea and blankets. Warmth is still the most urgent need.
Although the situation at the border seems to have stabilised, human tragedies are still unfolding there. Yesterday at the Krościenko border crossing, shortly after we had crossed, one woman went into labour. Another ran out of insulin. Border guards also told us that a few days ago a group of unaccompanied minors arrived at the border.
Our presence at the border is still very much needed. We are staying!
30.01.2024
Smart Charity – Using Technology to Make a Difference The usage and expenses related to new technologies have dominated the business world, and this trend extends to non-profit organizations. What technological solutions are used in non-profit organizations? What are the characteristics of Smart Charity? Smart Charity is a new concept describing a modern and agile […]
12.06.2023
To our questions about estimated casualty numbers, the most common answer is: “A lot! On both sides!”. Exactly how many no one knows, because getting aid to the occupied territories is like asking the aggressor for an open day in his trenches. On the 11th of June, the Russians fired on a boat with civilians […]
02.05.2023
What if this was your neighbourhood? If, between the billowing smoke, you spotted the ruins of the grocery store where you had shopped since you were a child? To which your mother would still send you with a list written in pencil on a piece of paper so you wouldn’t forget anything? Bachmut had more […]
