Ukraine has now surpassed Syria as the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 13 million people displaced across borders and within the country. Photo: Aleksey Filippov/UNICEF

The War in Ukraine: One Year Later, We Remain Committed to the Ukrainian People

On February 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine, causing widespread destruction and triggering a humanitarian crisis. A year after Putin’s unprovoked invasion, nearly 18 million people — about half of the people currently living in Ukraine — remain in need of aid. While nearly 16 million people have been reached with emergency assistance, USAID’s work is not done.

A year after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, more than 18 million people — about half of the country’s current population — need humanitarian aid. Photos: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP, Kolensnik Evgeni for UNICEF, Genya Savilov/AFP

Ukraine has now surpassed Syria as the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 13 million people displaced, including 8.1 million refugees forced to cross borders and 5.4 million people displaced inside the country.

From the beginning of Russia’s unjustified war on Ukraine, USAID has been committed to helping the people whose lives were upended through no fault of their own. Here are the ways we continue to support them one year later.

Ongoing Deployment of USAID Disaster Team

USAID’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) remains on the ground in Ukraine and in the region to lead the U.S. government’s response to the ongoing crisis. For the past year, the DART has worked around the clock to identify critical needs, conduct humanitarian assessments, and work with partners to scale up aid to areas of need. At its height, the DART comprised 43 people and operated in five countries, including Ukraine, Poland, and Romania.

The USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team remains on the ground in Ukraine and neighboring countries to coordinate the U.S. humanitarian response for this ongoing crisis. Photos: USAID, UNICEF Ukraine

USAID also activated a Washington-based operations center to support the DART and coordinate response planning and strategy. Nearly 300 USAID humanitarian experts from USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance have served on the Ukraine humanitarian response, working from the region and our Washington, D.C. headquarters.

Nearly 300 USAID humanitarian experts from USAID have served on the Ukraine humanitarian response, working from Ukraine, the region, and our Washington, D.C. headquarters. Photo: USAID

Scaling Up Humanitarian Programs

Following the February 24 invasion, USAID exponentially scaled up humanitarian programs to match the rapid increase in humanitarian needs. The United States remains the largest donor of humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, providing more than $1.9 billion in humanitarian assistance since the start of the war to help people inside Ukraine, as well as those fleeing to neighboring countries.

Over the past year, USAID has worked with partners to rapidly surge up humanitarian aid to meet increasing needs. Photos: Scott Fontaine/USAID

Of this, more than $1.4 billion is from USAID and has provided food, safe drinking water and hygiene support, health care, emergency shelter, and help to people in Ukraine affected by sexual violence or other trauma. Our assistance has been delivered across Ukraine through our partners — 9 UN agencies and 16 NGOs. A snapshot of our lifesaving efforts include:

• Food assistance: Our partner the UN World Food Program (WFP) is reaching nearly 3 million people a month inside Ukraine. With our support, WFP has delivered more than 168,000 metric tons of food to communities in the conflict zone. WFP also provided food rations and vouchers, as well as support for local bakeries providing bread to communities.
• Emergency healthcare: Working with our partners UNICEF and the UN World Health Organization (WHO), we’re prioritizing essential health services, surgical support, and prevention of disease. With our support, UNICEF has provided critical medical supplies — including medicine, surgical kits, first aid and hygiene supplies — to hospitals across Ukraine, reaching nearly 5 million people. WHO has delivered more than 2,000 metric tons of medical supplies, 59 ambulances, and enough emergency health kits to cover the primary health needs of nearly 1.8 million people.

Since the war began, USAID has provided $1.4 billion in humanitarian assistance and worked with partners to deliver food, water, hygiene support, health care, emergency shelter, and more to communities across Ukraine. Photos: WFP, IOM Ukraine, UNICEF Ukraine

• Multi-purpose cash assistance: To give Ukrainians the ability, dignity, and freedom to purchase the essential items they need, we have provided more than $436 million in multi-purpose cash assistance. This has enabled aid to get into people’s hands more quickly and helped support local economies.
• Protection: USAID is working with partners to help the most vulnerable by providing critical psychosocial support to children, people with disabilities, and the elderly. We’re also providing mental health services, conducting mine risk awareness activities, and supporting mobile protection teams to reach remote communities.

Graphic: Vanessa Rodriguez & Jacquie Frazier/USAID

Providing Aid to the Frontlines

As Ukraine started to retake areas from Russia’s forces in the eastern and southern part of the country in September, USAID and its partners rapidly scaled up aid to war-torn areas along the frontlines, where shelling remains a near-daily occurrence. More than 30 UN convoys have made it into Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, transporting critical relief supplies — including those supported by USAID — to help hundreds of thousands of people. This includes food, safe drinking water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, generators, solar lamps, and emergency shelter supplies.

USAID and its partners have scaled up aid to war-torn areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, where shelling remains a daily occurrence, in addition to areas that were retaken from Russian forces. Photos: UNICEF Ukraine, IOM Ukraine

But saving lives in a country under attack has come at a steep price. Humanitarian workers have been killed in bombardments and crossfire. Storehouses filled with aid have been bombed and shelled; so too have hospitals and medical centers. Such attacks are unacceptable. Not only do they come at too high a price — people’s lives — they also deprive Ukrainians of critical aid. One year into the crisis, life-saving assistance still has not been allowed to reach Ukrainians living in the Russia-occupied areas. Aid workers must be allowed safe passage to reach communities in need.

As we reach the one-year mark of this brutal and senseless war, we pause and reflect on the real heroes of this response: our partners, including the more than 60 local organizations we support inside Ukraine. They are the brave men and women putting their lives on the line to deliver aid from the American people into the hands of people who need it most. Our support for the people of Ukraine has not wavered. Over the past year, nearly 16 million people have been reached with humanitarian aid with immense support from USAID. But while needs persist, we remain dedicated to saving lives.

Nearly 16 million people have been reached with humanitarian assistance, but the work of USAID and our partners is not over. Photos: Scott Fontaine/USAID, Toby Fricker/UNICEF, Reem Nada/WFP

How You Can Help

You, too, can help the people affected by the war in Ukraine by providing monetary donations to professional aid groups working on the ground. The Center for International Disaster Information offers information on how you can donate to some of the organizations working on the front lines.

Get more information on USAID’s response to the war in Ukraine.

Follow USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates.