Ukraine situation

2023 situation overview

By the end of 2023, the war in Ukraine had displaced an estimated 3.7 million people within the country and forced 6.3 million refugees and asylum-seekers to seek protection abroad, nearly 6 million of them in Europe.  

The war disrupted basic services and livelihoods, damaged infrastructure, and contaminated a vast agricultural region with mines. Civilians living close to the frontlines were exposed to daily hostilities. Even after fleeing, they remained at risk from indiscriminate air strikes. The hostilities, large-scale destruction, disruption of the economy and social services have left millions dependent on humanitarian aid.  

In Ukraine, UNHCR worked in complementarity with Government programmes, providing urgent humanitarian assistance to 2.6 million people. 1.5 million of them received protection support such as legal assistance, information on rights and entitlements, psychosocial support, child protection services and support in relation to gender-based violence. UNHCR delivered cash assistance to nearly 900,000 vulnerable newly displaced people and returnees in 22 regions. People in frontline and hard-to-reach areas urgently needed basic items for cooking, bedding, warmth and hygiene, and UNHCR contributed to 95 inter-agency humanitarian convoys to supply such items to over 575,000 people while shifting towards providing cash assistance rather than goods wherever possible. UNHCR also provided winterization assistance to over 900,000 people, including cash top-ups, relief items, and care in collective sites. Emergency shelter and sustainable housing support was provided to over 247,000 war-affected people, returnees and internally displaced people (IDPs), helping to repair damaged homes and infrastructure.  

Together with UNDP, IOM, local authorities, and other partners, UNHCR implemented protection and housing programmes through an area-based pilot in Ivankiv in Kyiv region and Mukachevo in Zakarpattia region, with plans to expand to 12 more locations in 2024. UNHCR also provided policy and technical assistance for the “Perehid Initiative”, which is supporting the Government to develop an inclusive, shock-responsive social protection system, and will guide the eventual transfer of cash recipients from humanitarian programmes to the Government social protection system.  

UNHCR carried out intention surveys and other assessments to monitor protection risks and gauge people's attitudes towards returning to their places of origin. 62% of refugees and 67% of IDPs said they wanted to return home one day, but insecurity, the economy and a lack of housing were cited as the main reasons not to do so yet. With some refugees opting to return, UNHCR issued a “Position on voluntary returns to Ukraine” in 2023, which called for refugees’ legal status and associated rights in host countries to remain unaffected by return visits lasting less than three months. UNHCR did not promote or facilitate returns to Ukraine, noting that whilst some individuals were choosing to return home, it was crucial that such decisions were well-informed and made voluntarily in the context of the ongoing international armed conflict. 

With nearly half of Ukrainian refugee children missing out on formal schooling in host countries, UNHCR issued recommendations to improve their access. UNHCR also issued 10 global public advocacy statements, including on ensuring the inclusion of the most vulnerable refugees in host countries, notably older people and those with disabilities, among others.  

UNHCR also introduced a regional inclusion strategy for the Ukraine Refugee Response in 2023. In line with this, UNHCR implemented several initiatives to promote the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees, including Jobs4Ukraine – a refugee employment platform launched in Romania. This example, among several other good practices, helped promote decent work for refugees, as well as their broader socioeconomic inclusion. 

To advance community-based approaches, UNHCR set up the Regional Contact Centre – a toll-free refugee helpline across Europe, which received 52,000 calls. UNHCR also managed 40 dedicated Help websites, which received 9.1 million hits, providing vital protection information to refugees across the region. A second iteration of the Stay Safe campaign to raise awareness about the risks of trafficking and exploitation, and practical measures to reduce them reached 7.9 million people.