More than 870,000 people who fled abroad since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24, have now returned to Ukraine, UN humanitarian agencies said in their latest emergency update, amid concerns about deteriorating food security inside the country.
Citing the State Border Guard Service, UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that about 30,000 people are crossing back into Ukraine every day.
The recent returnees reportedly include women with children and older persons, compared to mostly men at the beginning of the escalation.
“This significant figure suggests that migration back to Ukraine might continue increasing, potentially creating new challenges for the humanitarian response as people will need support to reintegrate into their communities or find suitable host communities if returning to their homes is no longer viable,” OCHA said in a statement.
Of the 12 million people in need in Ukraine, humanitarians have reached 2.1 million of them, and the UN’s $1.1 billion flash appeal for Ukraine is now 64 per cent funded.
Fighting is concentrated in the eastern and southern oblasts or regions – of Ukraine, causing damage and civilian casualties and driving humanitarian needs. OCHA also reported rockets strikes in central and northern Ukraine, before citing Ukraine’s State Emergency Service (SESU), which said that 300,000 km2 – or almost half of Ukraine – requires demining.
In its latest emergency update, OCHA also reported that two humanitarian workers and five of their relatives have been killed in eastern Dontesk oblast. They were sheltering at the Caritas Mariupol office when the building was reportedly hit by rounds fired from a tank, probably on 15 March, although the information only became available recently, as the city had been cut off for weeks.—APP
