Aid agencies sound alarm over humanitarian crisis in Ukraine amid calls to provide refuge

Calls on European governments to establish a resettlement scheme to help people fleeing the conflict

Refugees fleeing the fighting in Ukraine queue for hot drinks at the border crossing in Medyka, south-east Poland. AP Photo

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Aid agencies worldwide have sounded the alarm over worsening humanitarian conditions in Ukraine, after Russian forces invaded, displacing more than 100,000 people on the first day.

Following Russia’s multi-pronged attack on Ukraine on Thursday, international children’s charity Save the Children called on EU leaders to “guarantee protection” for those seeking refuge from the current crisis.

The British-based organisation also launched an emergency fund. This will go towards distributing essential humanitarian aid to children and their families, delivering winter and hygiene kits, providing grants to families and access to education and psychological support for children.

Other global charities have launched emergency appeals to provide “critical relief” for Ukraine, including the British Red Cross, the International Committee for the Red Cross, and UN children’s agency Unicef.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said that Russia and Ukraine “have an obligation to protect civilians under the laws of war”, while fellow rights group Amnesty International called for “unerring respect for international human rights”.

The humanitarian consequences on civilian populations will be devastating. There are no winners in war but countless lives will be torn apart.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees,
Filippo Grandi

“Our worst fears have been realised,” said Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard.

According to UN refugee agency UNHCR, several thousand Ukrainians have already crossed into neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion — mainly Moldova and Romania — while an estimated 100,000 have fled their homes. The UK government is facing calls to establish a resettlement scheme to help people fleeing the conflict.

The UK for UNHCR, the agency's official partner in Britain, has also launched an urgent appeal for funds to deliver essential support for displaced people.

After eight years of armed conflict in Ukraine between Russian-supported separatists the government forces in the east, the UN estimates that there were already almost three million people in need of humanitarian support.

These include more than 850,000 people displaced by conflict, 5,000 refugees from other countries and 35,000 stateless people.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi gave a grave assessment of the latest developments. “The humanitarian consequences on civilian populations will be devastating. There are no winners in war but countless lives will be torn apart.”

In the UK, lawyers, think tanks and campaigners have said ministers must set out a humanitarian response to the unfolding crisis.

The UK government must act quickly to establish a bespoke settlement scheme for those fleeing Ukraine and avoid the kinds of problems and delays we saw from the evacuation of Afghanistan last year.

Matt Ingham,
Immigration Lawyer

The UK imposed what it called “the most punishing sanctions” to cripple the Russian economy. These are aimed at Russian elites, companies and financial institutions. Russian bank assets in the UK have been frozen, shutting off the country’s banking system from UK financial markets.

UK Prime Minster Boris Johnson said the latest sanctions include “all the major manufacturers that support Putin’s war machine".

Campaigners are urging the UK government to address the immediate needs of civilians in Ukraine.

“The world is about to witness a major refugee crisis in Europe as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” said Matt Ingham, partner in the citizenship and immigration team at law firm Payne Hicks Beach.

Kiev has estimated that three to five million people could be forced to leave the country due to the invasion.

“Ukraine’s Eastern European neighbours will feel the strain as citizens flee. That will lead to the inevitable overspill into the rest of Europe,” Mr Ingham said.

“The UK government must act quickly to establish a bespoke settlement scheme for those fleeing Ukraine and avoid the kinds of problems and delays we saw from the evacuation of Afghanistan last year.

“It is currently difficult for Ukrainian citizens to seek asylum in the UK, and the fact there is a war currently under way does not give an automatic right to claim asylum in the UK.”

A Ukrainian soldier walks past the shell of a burnt military vehicle, on a street in Kiev. AP

A screengrab from CCTV footage shows a missile hitting a residential building in Kiev. Reuters

A man inspects a broken window, after shelling carried out by Russian troops in the Ukrainian capital. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military centre as two cars burn on a street in Kiev. AP

Medical specialists transport a woman, who was wounded in the shelling of an apartment building, to an ambulance, as her husband looks on. Reuters

A woman outside her apartment building after it was damaged by a rocket, in Kiev. AP

A Ukrainian police officer detains a driver on a street in Kiev. AP

A soldier's helmet with a bullet hole on a street in the Ukrainian capital. AP

Ukrainian soldiers walk by a damaged vehicle, at the site of fighting with Russian troops, in Kiev. Reuters

Ukrainian policemen move parrots to safety after a high-rise apartment block was damaged by shelling in Kiev. EPA

A screengrab from a video shows rescue workers carrying a person at the site of a damaged multi-storey residential building, south-west of the Ukrainian capital. Reuters

A building damaged by shelling carried out by Russian troops in Kiev. EPA

Helga Tarasova comforts her daughter Kira Shapovalova as they wait in an underground shelter during a bombing alert in Kiev. AFP

A man walks past a building damaged by a rocket attack in the Ukrainian capital. AP

Emergency services workers near an apartment building damaged by shelling in Kiev. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers collect unexploded shells in the capital. AFP

An apartment building damaged by shelling in Kiev. Reuters

Debris of a burnt military truck on a street in Kiev. AP

Natali Sevriukova stands next to her home after a rocket attack in Kiev, Ukraine. AP

People on foot and in cars move to cross from Ukraine to Poland at the Korczowa-Krakovets border crossing following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

Servicemen from the Ukrainian National Guard in central Kiev. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers in downtown Kiev after Russian troops reached the outskirts of the capital. AP Photo

Police officers detain demonstrators in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hundreds of people gathered in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Thursday, protesting against Russia's attack on Ukraine. Similar protests took place in other Russian cities, and activists were also arrested. AP Photo

Hungarian troops in Vasarosnameny, close to the border with Ukraine, prepare to help refugees. AP Photo

Wrecked Russian army rocket launchers in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

The aftermath of a rocket attack in Kiev. AP Photo

A US Air Force jet refuels over Poland. Reuters

Devastation after shelling in Ukraine's Luhansk enclave. Reuters

The Royal Welsh Battlegroup from the UK makes its way to Estonia. Reuters

Firefighters tackle a blaze in a building in Kiev. AFP

The wreckage of an unidentified aircraft in a residential area in Kiev. Reuters

Smoke rises near the Ukrainian Defence Ministry in Kiev. Reuters

Russian military helicopters fly over the Ukrainian capital. AP

An anxious wait to board a train to leave Kiev as the attack loomed. AP Photo

Ukrainian servicemen on tanks in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. AP Photo

Ukraine troops said this destroyed armoured vehicle outside Kharkiv belonged to the Russian army. Reuters

Rescuers at the crash site after a Ukraine armed forces Antonov aircraft was shot down in Kiev, according to the Ukrainian authorities. Reuters

Ukrainian tanks that aim to repel an attack by the Russian military in the Luhansk enclave of Ukraine. AFP

A Ukrainian State Border Guard Service base is ablaze after heavy shelling near Kiev. Reuters

Damaged radar at a Ukrainian military plant outside Mariupol. Officials in Kiev say Russian troops have rolled into the country from the north, east and south. AP Photo

Firefighters attend a blaze after bombing in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv, as Russian armed forces appeared to be bombarding Ukraine from several directions. AFP

A traffic jam in Kiev, with many Ukrainians leaving their capital after Russian troops entered. EPA

The Border Service of Ukraine released CCTV footage purporting to show Russian military vehicles passing a checkpoint to drive into Crimea. AP

A man picks up fragments of military materiel on the street after an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

Workers load the debris of a rocket on to a lorry in the aftermath of Russian shelling in Kiev. AP

Emergency staff treat an injured man after bombing in Chuguiv. AFP

An American woman in distress after crossing the border to flee the violence in Ukraine, in Medyka, Poland. Reuters

People take shelter in a Kiev subway station, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine. Reuters

People in a rush near Kiev-Pasazhyrskyi railway station in the Ukrainian capital. AFP

A Flightradar24.com screengrab shows a dearth of civilian aircraft in Ukrainian airspace after the Russian invasion. AP

The aftermath of bombing in Chuguiv. AFP

A Ukrainian rocket launcher vehicle prepares for action. Reuters

Cars are driven across a field to leave the city of Kharkiv. Reuters

People chant, carry placards and wave Ukrainian flags as they gather in Sydney, to demonstrate against Russian attacks on its neighbour. AP

People with many of their belongings packed take shelter in a Metro station in Kiev. AFP

Emergency services at the scene of an explosion at a military unit building in Kiev. EPA

A Kiev resident sweeps up debris after Russian shelling. AP

The first 40 soldiers of the 173rd US Army Airborne Brigade step off a military plane in Latvia. EPA

More damage from shelling in Kiev. AP

People wait at a bus station to travel to western parts of Ukraine, after violence in the east. Reuters

A woman carries her cats in a quest for a safe haven. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds an urgent government meeting in Kiev to discuss the next step. AFP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell give a joint statement in Brussels, updating the press about the situation in Ukraine. EPA

People survey the damage after bombing in Chuguiv. AFP

A building on fire in Chuguiv. AFP

There have also been warnings that the UK government’s Nationality and Borders Bill currently going through Parliament — which will make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introduce life sentences for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country — could penalise those seeking sanctuary.

Mr Ingham said the bill “would make it even harder for those desperately fleeing Ukraine to come to the UK, had it already been passed into law".

“Our government must now take a different approach and play its part to avert a humanitarian crisis.”

Marley Morris from the Institute for Public Policy Research think tank said: “With the humanitarian crisis continuing to unfold in Afghanistan and Russia invading Ukraine this week, the UK has a duty to expand its efforts to welcome refugees fleeing war and persecution.

“This means it is critical that it has an asylum system that is fit for purpose.

“The government must set out plans for its humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine, ramp up its resettlement programmes, and invest in a fast and effective asylum process.”

On Thursday evening, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed Ukrainians in the UK can have their visas temporarily extended or changed.

Those on work, study or visit visas will be able to extend their leave in the UK or, in some circumstances, change the type of visa they have without leaving the country.