INTERNALLY DISPLACED REFUGEES

When war comes, citizens must flee.  Since March 2014 when Russia simultaneously annexed Crimea and attacked Eastern Ukraine, over 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled westward to other Ukrainian cities.  They are most often without jobs, without housing, without means of helping themselves and without

hope.  On Feb 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with more than 175,000 troops from East, South and North, bombing and firing missiles upon the major cities of Ukraine and advancing with tanks.  In the first days of war more than a million people fled to neighboring countries.  The number of refugees and internally displaced people will only increase significantly as the war rages on, and our country is devastated.

From 2014-2018 International Partnership churches and staff in Kiev, Kharkov and Uman responded with material help and spiritual encouragement, bringing hope to hopeless hearts and minds.  In 2022 most people thus far have fled towards Lviv, the largest western city in Ukraine.  Lviv churches are helping internally displaced and refugees, providing food and hosting them in their homes.