The war launched by Russia against Ukraine has triggered one of the fastest growing refugee emergencies in the history of UN observations: the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ukraine could reach 6.7 million, up from 854,000 before start of the war.
The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) predicts that a military offensive could displace up to 6.7 million people within Ukraine, 4.3 million of whom will need life-saving humanitarian assistance, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Wednesday.
According to it, prior to the Russian invasion, Ukrainian authorities registered 1.46 million IDPs, of which 854,000 lived in government-controlled areas, in addition to 1.7 million affected by the conflict. Most of them were displaced after the outbreak of hostilities in southeastern Ukraine in 2014.
The office adds that there were also 35,000 stateless persons and 5,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Ukraine, mostly from Afghanistan, whose need for OHCHR assistance is expected to become even more acute as the situation develops.
According to the organization’s estimates, in addition to 6.7 million IDPs, there will also be about 4 million refugees from Ukraine, while before the war there were only 53,000.
In line with an initial request for $270 million in financial support, OHCHR intends to assist 2.1 million IDPs over an initial three-month period (March-May this year).
In addition, the agency has requested $240 million in funding to help 2.4 million refugees in the first six months, which will be distributed to their host countries.
In general, the UN estimates the financial needs for an urgent response to the situation in Ukraine (United Nations Emergency Appeal for the Ukraine Situation) at $1.7 billion, of which $1.1 billion for Ukraine and $550.6 million for countries that have accepted refugees.
OHCHR is calling on the donor community to support people in dire need in Ukraine and neighboring countries at this critical time.
Head of Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh has said that as of midday on Wednesday, the radiation background in the region remains within the natural range and does not pose a threat to human health.
“Zaporizhia Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine informs that the radiation background in Zaporizhia region remains unchanged and does not pose a threat to the life and health of the population … The gamma background … does not exceed the natural background characteristic of these territories,” Starukh wrote on the Telegram channel.
He listed the level of gamma background in different settlements of the region, it is in the range from 10.2 to 12 microroentgens per hour; in Energodar, where Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant is located – 10.6 microroentgens per hour.
Polish Ambassador to Ukraine Bartosz Cichocki, Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yağmur Ahmet Güldere and Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas continue to work in Kyiv, the Polish Ambassador to Ukraine said.
“There are also a nuncio and a Turkish ambassador,” Cichocki said on Twitter on Wednesday.
So he responded to the media’s suggestion that he was the only Western ambassador who did not leave Kyiv.
For the period of martial law, Ukraine instructed the regional military administrations, together with the National Police, the State Consumer Service and the State Medical Service, to ensure control over the setting of retailers’ prices for a number of goods, including, in particular, wheat flour, pasta, long loaf, bread, buckwheat, oatmeal.
According to the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 223 of March 6, published on the government website, this list also includes pork, beef, poultry (chicken carcasses), milk, butter, sour cream, chicken eggs, sunflower oil and sugar.
In addition, retail prices of white cabbage, onions, beets, carrots, potatoes, ethanol (96% solution), domestic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drugs, A-95 gasoline, diesel fuel and liquefied gas will be controlled.
As reported, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on March 7, that the government had formed a package of decisions that should support Ukrainian businesses during the war. According to him, in particular, the government will cancel all measures of market and consumer supervision on all issues, except for price regulation and pricing control.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide the first financing package to support Ukraine’s resilience in the amount of EUR2 billion.
“The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced an initial EUR2 billion resilience package of measures to help citizens, companies and countries affected by the war on Ukraine. The bank has also pledged to do all it can to help with the country’s reconstruction, once conditions allow,” the bank said.
“Funding will be made rapidly available to support Ukrainian companies – for example, with deferred loans, liquidity support, and trade finance. Where possible, businesses will be helped to relocate so their work can continue,” it said.
“In addition, the bank’s Resilience and Livelihoods Framework will help in countries directly affected by inflows of Ukrainian refugees. Women, children and the elderly make up the majority of displaced citizens, and municipal authorities face huge challenges in managing the influx of people,” the report says.
“This package was endorsed today by the Bank’s Board of Directors and represents a first round of support. The EBRD had previously declared its unwavering support to Ukraine and its people, and condemned the aggression by the Russian Federation and Belarus,” according to the document.
“Once conditions permit, the EBRD will also be prepared to take part in a reconstruction program for Ukraine, to rebuild livelihoods and businesses; restore vital infrastructure; support good governance; and enable access to services,” it reads.
“It envisages working with international partners including the EU and U.S., as well as bilateral donors and other international financial institutions. It expects there to be a surge in investment in energy security, as well as an acceleration of decarbonization efforts,” the bank added.
The global analytical agency in the field of higher education Quacquarelli Symonds, which compiles one of the most popular university rankings in the world QS World University Rankings, has decided to stop cooperation with Russian and Belarusian institutions of higher education in connection with the war unleashed against Ukraine.
“We are outraged by the war that Russia is waging against the Ukrainian people. We believe in the power of international education to promote understanding and cooperation, but now we are seeing how university campuses have experienced destruction, and our partners, colleagues and friends have been displaced and affected by a humanitarian catastrophe,” the founder and CEO of the company said in an official statement.
The report notes that in response to the actions of the Russian Federation, the organization is taking a number of measures.
In particular, it supports, through advisory services and mobility programs, in particular through the QS TopUniversities portal, Ukrainian and foreign students and applicants affected by the war.
Also, through various platforms (during summits, through the website and publications), it organizes discussions among the international educational community about the crisis caused by the war and the search for opportunities to support the affected people, and also ceases to cooperate with new clients in the Russian Federation and suspends active interaction with Russian clients, previously collaborated with.
In addition, a decision was made not to include Russian and Belarusian universities in the new university rankings and to stop advertising Russian universities or the Russian Federation as a place to study.
