The escalating military conflict in Ukraine’s east is forcing thousands from their homes, but the government appears to have no official support program in place to confront a potential humanitarian crisis. The need for a coordinated initiative is growing in urgency as ever larger numbers head to the west in search of shelter.
Now a new movement is bringing pressure to bear on government.
Recently created volunteer organizations EuroMaidan SOS, Vostok SOS and Donetsk SOS have pooled their resources in an effort to provide aid for those fleeing to western and central Ukraine. They have teamed up with the Foundation for the Development of Ukraine, a charity owned by Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.
The self-organised initiative also has celebrity backing in the form of Ruslana Lyzhychko, a Eurovision song contest winner who was active during the recent anti-government protests in the capital. Lyzhychko, who now serves as the public face of the campaign, told the Kyiv Post that red tape is preventing the emergence of an official aid programme.
“We’ve had to rely on our own funds and resources. There’s a wall of bureaucracy hindering government assistance. We can’t bypass it – it’s bureaucracy and that’s it. The state is an inert and heavy apparatus. It needs to be pushed for results to be achieved,” she said, adding that the group is currently helping 300 people find accommodation, 72 of them children.
A system of free hotlines has been set up to coordinate the aid effort, and the numbers can be found on the Euromaidan SOS website, euromaidansos.org, and the website of the Akhmetov foundation, fdu.org.ua.
Many of the volunteers are themselves natives of cities in eastern Ukraine that have come under fire. One of them, Ph.D. student Aleksey Ryabchyn, moved from Donetsk two weeks ago with his wife and daughter and is now working with the organisation to help fellow arrivals in the capital.
“The press publish reports of people taking advantage of our help, of people in refugee shelters asking for vodka and cigarettes instead of food. Don’t believe such stories. This conflict has brought out the best in the Ukrainian people. Our priority is helping those in need, no matter what side they’re on,” he said.
Some administrative obstacles are coming down. Existing laws only apply to refugees escaping conflict abroad, but a new law granting “temporarily displaced”status to those fleeing violence within the country has been approved by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. If passed next week as expected, according to Lyzhychko, it will enable refugees to register with city authorities.
“This is my message to people who are becoming used to war: ‘Forget about your rooms, your property. Think about your own lives and come here, we are ready to help.’ Maidan may be over, but we cannot relax,” Lyzhychko said, referring to last winter’s mass anti-government protests.
Signs are beginning to emerge that the government is finally recognising the scale of the problem.
President Petro Poroshenko announced on June 10 the creation of “evacuation corridors” to help refugees from the country’s east, without clarifying how these will operate in practice. The following day Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called for a database to be drawn up to assist their resettlement.
Accommodation for 39,000 people has been made available across western Ukraine, with schools, hotels and even churches being enlisted to meet the demand. Kyiv and Lviv, the most popular destinations, are rapidly running out of space, and many are now being sent to Cherkasy oblast, where the local government has provided accommodation for around 22,000 people.
Official statistics on the scale of the problem are hard to come by. Citing figures from June 5, Tatyana Lupova, advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Social Policy, said around 2,000 people have fled Donetsk and Lugansk regions since the conflict began. As of June 11 Ukraine’s State Migration Service reports 5,000 people having left the two regions for other parts of Ukraine. It estimates that a further 5,000 have done so without informing the authorities.
Meanwhile Russian media have reported tens of thousands of Ukrainians crossing the border into Russia, although Russia’s own migration service has cited far fewer cases. A camp for around 300 refugees set up in Rostov region, which borders Ukraine, was visited on Thursday by the OSCE’s secretary general Lamberto Zannier.
According to Lupova, the issue with obtaining reliable figures lies partly in the fact that few of those who leave conflict zones register with official state organs.
“How can we help these people if they are not known to us? We have put up posters at railway stations and adverts on TV. We have set up free hotlines for those seeking a place to stay,” she said.
Lupova admitted that the government needs to change its policy towards the unfolding humanitarian crisis, adding that it is prepared to collaborate with privately organised initiatives. “You have information about these people, we have the means to help them. Let’s work together,” she said.
