Number of refugees returning to Ukraine exceeds 700,000 despite war horrors

People desperate to 'reconnect with their families' but number leaving now approaching five million

Elea Serebriakova returning to her husband in Dnipro. Photo: Thomas Harding/The National

The number of Ukrainian refugees returning to their country has passed 700,000 despite it being an “incredibly dangerous place for civilians”, officials have stated.

The main reason given is that people want to “reconnect with their families”, with thousands returning every day to Kyiv, in spite of the Russian bombardments.

During a visit to the Ukraine border on Friday, The National found civilians returning to their country who stated it was “better to die together” than suffer the anxiety of being apart.

But those fleeing the country still outnumber those returning, with almost 5 million refugees having fled Ukraine, according to the UN's refugee agency.

“It’s quite alarming that within the space of a few weeks we are approaching five million refugees from Ukraine,” said UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo. “This is the fastest-growing and one of the largest refugee crises we are seeing in Europe since the Second World War.”

There are now 12 million people — more than a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million population — who are either refugees or internally displaced, officials said.

This has led to a significant requirement for more food, drinking water, shelter, medicine and cash. “There also needs to be more support around mental health as the population has been traumatised,” a British official said.

Ukrainian volunteers collect water for the inhabitants of the city of Mykolaiv after its water supply was damaged during fighting in the Kherson region. EPA

The elderly and disabled need assistance too, as “they cannot move and they desperately need help as they are caught up in fighting”, he added.

“It is incredibly dangerous for those who remain and it is difficult to get convoys in. Three quarters have been successful.”

It is estimated that the number of people being supported by the World Food Programme will double from one million to two million within a week, he said.

According to figures released by the World Health Organisation on Tuesday there have been 132 attacks on health facilities, including 16 on ambulances, 24 on personnel and 12 on patients. At least two warehouses stockpiling medical aid have also been hit.

A sign that reads 'Children' is fixed on to a car windscreen riddled with bulletholes in Irpin, Ukraine. AFP

A woman weeps next to her husband's coffin at a cemetery in Irpin. AFP

Residents walk amid debris of a charred Russian tank next to destroyed houses in the village of Zalissya. AFP

Volunteers distribute food to residents in Zalissya. AFP

A man walks past a damaged apartment building in the southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Tamara, 71, cries in front of a destroyed apartment building in Mariupol. Reuters

Local residents push a cart with a child past destroyed buildings in Mariupol. Reuters

A record player sits among debris inside an apartment in Mariupol. Reuters

Residents carry belongings past a destroyed building in Mariupol. Reuters

Security guards help an injured man following a Russian bombing of a factory in Kramatorsk. AP

A man receives first aid treatment. AP

Soldiers collect explosives after recent battles in the village of Moshchun, close to Kyiv. AP

The Komodor logistics park lies in ruins after being bombed and burnt during the Russian invasion near Makarov. Getty Images

A room in a kindergarten stands windowless in Makarov. Getty Images

A vehicle draped with a Ukrainian flag passes over a war-damaged bridge in Makarov. Getty Images

A man sits in a basement that was used as a bomb shelter in the village of Kukhari. EPA

Local residents clean the area around a destroyed farm in Kukhari. EPA

Nadia looks at her husband's coffin at a cemetery in Bucha. He was killed during the war. AFP

Mangled buildings in Irpin point to the ravages of the ongoing war. Getty Images

A burnt apartment tower in Irpin. Getty Images

Family members grieve during the funeral of Ruslan Nechyporenko, 47, in Bucha. Getty Images

An abandoned Russian military position in Borodyanka town near Kyiv. EPA

Heavily pregnant Dr Marta Kopan, who fled Kyiv with her husband Dr Maxim Motsya and their three-year-old son Makar, narrates their ordeal at a relative's place in Lviv. AP

A Ukrainian officer searches for unexploded explosives as he passes by an Antonov An-225, the world's biggest cargo aircraft, destroyed during the war on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

A woman stands amid the destruction caused when a civilian building was hit by a Russian missile in Lviv, western Ukraine. Getty Images

Ukrainian soldiers on an armoured personnel carrier, near the front line with Russian troops, in Izyum district, Kharkiv region, north-eastern Ukraine. AFP

Ukrainian refugees arrive at the Siret border crossing between Romania and Ukraine. AFP

Ukranian soldiers in a trench look out across the front line near Kharkiv. AFP

Cars destroyed in Russian attacks, in Irpin, near Kyiv. The scene of fierce fighting, the town was occupied by Russian forces. Reuters

Damaged and destroyed vehicles at Illich Iron and Steel Works Metallurgical Plant, in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists in besieged south-eastern city Mariupol. AP

Russian military vehicles in an area controlled by Moscow-backed separatists near Mariupol. AP

An elderly woman waits do be evacuated from a hospice in Chasiv Yar city, in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. At least 35 residents have been helped to flee from the region that has been under attack for weeks. AP

A Ukrainian Interior Ministry serviceman collects unexploded shells, grenades and mines, following fierce fighting in Hostomel. AP

It also was reported that Russia might be deliberately using sexual violence against women to subjugate the population in areas it has occupied.

It was still unclear if this was the “policy of the Russian army or rogue soldiers” but “we need more evidence gathering”, the UK official said.

“Once the evidence is completed maybe we can say it was a policy but I don't think we're there yet. Only that human rights abuses and atrocities are happening.”