A global Movement responds
It has been two years since conflict escalated in Ukraine, and a decade since the annexation of Crimea.
Right now, in Ukraine, it is winter; thick snow blankets streets and fields and people are doing what they can to keep warm. In some parts of the country there is no electricity, and in those places, families are warmed only by fire and blankets; melting ice for water and eating from stores of food they have saved.
The past twelve months of the conflict have been marked by escalating tensions, displacement, and immeasurable human suffering. Families have been torn apart, homes destroyed, and livelihoods shattered. Since the conflict began, a staggering 27.2 million people have been impacted.
Teams from the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) are working tirelessly in conflict zones throughout the country to ensure people are provided with food, shelter, medical care, and psychosocial support.
The ongoing violence has resulted in an immense need for humanitarian assistance around the world too, as Ukrainians continue to flee their homes in search of safety. UNHCR reports that over 8.5 million Ukrainians have been displaced. Across the world, from Poland to Georgia to Türkiye, local Red Cross and Red Crescent teams have been helping hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have been displaced and are now living in new countries.
Amidst the devastation, your generosity powers our ongoing efforts; in the past 24 months Australians have donated an incredible $17.6 million to our Ukraine Crisis Appeal. Australian Red Cross also received a $2 million grant from the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
It is thanks to donors all around the world that the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement1 (the Movement) has been able to reach more than 17.9 million people in the past two years.
Red Cross National Societies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have distinct mandates to carry out humanitarian activities in international armed conflicts. These mandates are provided under international humanitarian law as well as national laws and resolutions of International Red Cross Red Crescent Conferences. Under these laws, parties to an armed conflict are legally required to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief for civilians in need.
This report outlines the challenges posed by the second year of a gruelling conflict, and the lifesaving aid powered by over 40 of our National Societies to millions of impacted people.
Thank you for standing shoulder to shoulder with us in our mission to alleviate suffering and restore dignity to people whose lives have been forever changed by this conflict.
Alex Mathieson
Director, International Programs and Movement Relations
Australian Red Cross
1 The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 191 National Societies.
Download the 2-year Impact Report (2.3MB PDF)
Ukraine Crisis Appeal 12-month Impact Report, February 2023
