UNHCR began its work in Ukraine in 1994 to help Crimean Tatars return to their native peninsula. In 2022, the Agency was already helping millions of Ukrainians fleeing full-scale Russian aggression.
The UNHCR mission in Ukraine at that time was headed by Karolina Lindholm Billing, who arrived in our country in 2021 and did not leave it when Russian troops were near Kyiv.
Ukrinform spoke with Ms. Billing about what her mission did to help internally displaced persons in Ukraine and its refugees on the last day of her term at the head of the UNHCR mission in Ukraine. We discussed current trends in population displacement, the work of the UN under a lack of funding, and maintaining ties between our citizens and their homeland.
WE SEE AN INCEASE IN THE NUMBER OF EVACUATED PEOPLESINCE MID-2024
– Madam Billing, we meet after 3.5 years of full-scale war. How would you characterise the current situation around IDPs and refugees, as well as for your organisation?
– It has been three and a half dramatic years with the largest forced displacement crisis since the Second World War, where a quarter of Ukraine's population, more than 10 million people, were forced to flee within just a few weeks.
What we see now is that there are both around 3.7 million internally displaced inside Ukraine and around 5.6 million refugees abroad. But we also see in the last year, especially since mid-2024, an increase in the number of people being evacuated or displaced from frontline areas.
People are still trying to find affordable housing, a job, and put their kids in schools where they have found relative safety.
– So, the number of displaced people has been increasing from 2024?
– Yes, since the beginning of this year, more than 190,000 people have become newly displaced from the frontline Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy regions. More than 35,000 of them have passed through different transit centres after evacuation.
– Do you record a change of needs of these people, of displaced persons and refugees from the beginning of the full-scale invasion?
– When people are newly displaced, often the first thing they need is somewhere to stay. They need humanitarian assistance in the form of basic hygiene items, cash assistance to cover the cost of food, medicine, and psychosocial support, because they fled areas under attack.
What we see now as a difference is that most of the newly evacuated are really people with the highest vulnerability. It is many older people, with limited mobility or disabilities, and socioeconomically disadvantaged, because they are the ones who have stayed the longest in the frontline regions.
If I compare it to 2022, there was really a mix of the population fleeing. There were younger people, with children, fleeing areas under attack, including Kyiv.
Now, those who are fleeing are highly vulnerable people, which also puts additional strain on dignified accommodation, because some of the people were living in institutions, or they had assisted living in frontline areas. The government, especially the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity, is very committed to finding dignified accommodation for them in other safer parts of Ukraine. However, there are insufficient homes available for so many people within such a short period of time.
MANY STILL HOPING TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES
– What regions have the highest number of IDPs?
– The Dnipropetrovsk region has almost half a million IDPs, the Kyiv region, including Kyiv city, and the Kharkiv region. The majority prefer to stay as close to home as possible because many are still hoping to be able to return to their homes if the opportunity comes.
– Do Ukrainian refugees abroad preserve the hope to come?
– More than 60% still intend to return to Ukraine. You have quite a high percentage who are unsure, because it depends on how the situation will develop. Will there be a ceasefire? Will it be, you know, a lasting peace and so on? But they still hope and intend to return. We must support them. Therefore, UNHCR has, over the years, been conducting periodic surveys to understand what their intentions are. Safety and security are the number one factor, but not the only one. Having a house, a home, an apartment to return to, a job, and basic services is working.
These areas also correspond to Ukraine's recovery priorities. It is important to invest in the recovery of housing and job opportunities, so that those who want to return feel that they can actually do that.
Because it is very sad if Ukrainians who want to return feel it is impossible because they have no home or job to return to.
45% OF OUR APPEAL HAS BEEN FUNDED THIS YEAR
– The longer the war continues, the harder it is for you to find resources, especially when the U.S., the largest donor of the UN, is also plummeting its assistance. What amount of funds do you operate with to help Ukrainians? And what priorities do you set in such conditions, such scarcity?
– Since the start of the full-scale invasion, UNHCR has mobilized over $1.6 billion to support millions of Ukrainians with humanitarian assistance, including cash assistance. Just 2.2 million Ukrainians have received cash assistance since 2022. We have also repaired more than 43,000 homes.
This year, we are appealing for $550 million for these programs, which we call protection services, including free legal aid, housing, and collective centres, among others. 45% of that appeal has been funded so far, and we are more than mid-year.
As years go by, funding for humanitarian and early recovery programs tends to decrease. So, a lot of our work consists of advocating with governments to explain why it is critical not to reduce the funding, because the war and attacks are ongoing. More people are actually being displaced, as I mentioned. And you have those in prolonged displacement who are still not able to find affordable housing.
We say to donors, “Now is not the time to reduce and give up. Ukrainians want to stay in their own country. They want to remain here and build a future here. Please support them in this aspiration.”
UNHCR and I have personally brought ambassadors from different donor and non-direct donor countries to frontline regions to meet directly with war-affected people. I have taken ambassadors to Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kherson, and Mykolaiv and so on, so they can see directly how humanitarian and early recovery programmes help rebuild their homes and remain in their communities.
Yes, overall funding is reducing with time, but as UNHCR, we are doing everything we can to advocate for funding to remain at a good level.
– Have all the projects around sheltering the IDPs been implemented or are there some that have been cancelled?
– As UNHCR, we have had to reduce a little bit the targets, so to speak, the number of house repairs or social infrastructures we can refurbish, but the plans we made, we have been able to implement.
For example, I was in Kremenchuk on Monday, where we inaugurated a newly refurbished collective centre. I was also in Zaporizhzhia, where, you know, we can show pictures, together with the authorities, they are preparing for so-called core homes for IDPs to stay in Zaporizhzhia city.
UKRAINIANS HAVE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO KEEP THE CONNECTIONS WITH THEIR COUNTRY
– What are the numbers of people returning from abroad? You have said about housing, but are there any other advice you can give the Ukrainian state?
– Job is a key factor. UNHCR has partnered with Brunel University of London to develop a forecasting model that aims to predict under which scenarios refugees will return in higher numbers and to which areas in Ukraine. This is to help inform the government and donors like the World Bank and others to prioritise the resources. This one shows that investing in housing, jobs, reskilling opportunities, and basic services will enable people to return.
We also find that a significant number of the refugees intend to return to another region other than their home region, because many come from temporarily occupied territories. They may come from Mariupol, but plan to return to Kyiv, Lviv or Vinnytsia, for example. We also need to consider this factor in the planning, because these regions have been hosting IDPs since 2022 or even 2014.
– You emphasises that Ukrainian refugees are not only a burden, and they are a huge economic driver for the countries. But how can Ukraine, as a state, use their potential for its own development?
– Those who decide to return to Ukraine will hopefully have learnt new EU languages, new skills and jobs while they were abroad. These skills will be useful for Ukraine’s recovery, development and the EU integration.
It is also important that refugees are allowed to study and work while they stay in the host country, so they use that time to develop their skills and human capital. The other thing, I think, is that in a mobile world with freedom of movement, we must not focus only on the Ukrainians who return physically to Ukraine, but also on how people can maintain their links and connections with Ukraine. They can work for Ukrainian companies, but from Germany, Sweden, Poland or Moldova. In this mobile world, Ukraine’s economy and businesses can use people abroad to contribute to the development of the economy.
I think with digital advancement, innovation, creativity and hard work, there are really great opportunities to keep the connections and opportunities for the Ukrainians abroad to contribute to the development of Ukraine, even if they, for the moment, opt not to physically return.
The law on dual citizenship was an important step in that direction, because it shows that Ukraine as a state does not want to lose its people. Ukraine, as a state, wants people to continue feeling a sense of belonging to the country. Without the law, people may have to choose.
They can now keep the links to Ukraine but remain abroad as long as they feel it is unsafe to return.
– Do you follow the peace talks and the multitude of scenarios in the media? What potential risks does UNHCR and you personally see in them for the humanitarian situation?
– We are a humanitarian organisation and are not involved in the talks, but we follow them. Because if there is a ceasefire and attacks stop, like the horrific attack on Kyiv the previous week or daily strikes on Kharkiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and Sumy, that means people no longer need evacuation from frontline areas.
Then the opportunities for people to work on the recovery, rebuilding their homes and maybe have a place for the refugees to return will increase.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued a statement only last week reiterating the importance of a just and lasting peace and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
INSPIRING TO SEE UKRAINIANS DEFY THE ATTACKS AND DETERMINE TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES
– Your mission visited many regions of Ukraine, particularly near the front line. What do you remember and what touched you the most during your trips?
– I will mention a few examples that come to my mind. There are many of them because over the past three and a half years, and before the full-scale invasion, I visited many settlements along the contact line. I have been to Avdiivka, Popasna, Krymske, and Mariupol several times in 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
The most memorable was when I joined a UN interagency convoy to Kherson city on the 14th of November, less than 72 hours after the city was retaken by the Ukrainian armed forces. People were coming out of their homes, waving Ukrainian flags, and were so happy to see others come immediately to their city, which had just been under temporary occupation.
It was moving and showed me the importance of being present in those locations most affected by the war, so that people see they are not forgotten. So, I made a priority to travel a lot and brought many ambassadors, as well as ministers from Norway. Another memorable example in Bilopillia in the Sumy region, very close to the border with the Russian Federation. I visited a community centre several times, where older people come together just to meet and sing.
They bring food and eat together. To see that is just incredible!
We often think older people are vulnerable and, maybe, frail, but they are so full of courage and love for their home. It has been inspiring to see and experience how the Ukrainian people have defied the attacks and are determined to stay in their homes.
– Have you failed to implement something while you were the head of the UNHCR mission to Ukraine?
– I think one of our big failures as the UN and the international community is to reach the Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories. We have had very limited access.
Many of us know people who still have older parents there or other relatives who, for different reasons, can not leave their homes and who do not want to lose connection with Ukraine and retain their citizenship. We must not forget them.
Ivan Kosiakin, Kyiv.
Photo: Pavlo Bahmut