O United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) indicated this Friday (25) that about 13 million people they are prevented from leaving areas affected by the attacks and cannot escape due, for example, to the state of roads and other passages.
“They cannot leave because of the destruction of roads, blockages or lack of information on where to go to find safety and help,” said the UNHCR representative for Ukraine, Karolina Lindholmthrough videoconferencing.
This trapped population, if it manages to leave the places where it is, will increase the number of internally displaced people and refugees as a result of the conflict.
The invasion by Russian troops caused, in a month, the displacement of 6.5 million people in Ukrainian territory and the flight of 3.7 million people to other countries, according to the most recent data from UNHCR.
Lindholm added that international aid had arrived in droves, with local authorities responsible for leading “the humanitarian response from the very first minute, which they are doing in an extraordinary way”.
To try to deal with the magnitude of internal displacement, the UNHCR representative said she is working with local officials to identify buildings and other facilities that could be converted into collective reception centres.
“Millions of people need support to have a place to live in the medium and long term,” Lindholm said. “It’s been a month since all this started, and now it’s a crisis that evolves second by second,” he added.
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