What is going on in Ukraine?

by Andre Reis Botelho Gomes Da Silva

For the past month, the world has been gripped by the events going on in Ukraine. With headlines being dominated by military actions, the heroic speeches of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European action and policy, Franco-German efforts for a ceasefire, people tend to often overlook at the fact that Europe is facing its worst humanitarian crisis in decades, with profound effects on millions of Ukrainian citizens now turned refugees.

Just over the weekend of March 12th and March 13th, over 200,000 Ukrainian refugees arrived at the small Polish town of Medyka on the border with Ukraine, many of whom were women with their infant children coming from Ukrainian cities such as Lviv and Dnipro, walking hundreds of miles to reach this small village with a population of just 2600 people. Others managed to make their way to the capital of Warsaw, sleeping in train stations, where temperatures can reach below freezing during the night.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24th, over 2.5 million Ukrainians had to flee their homes, jobs, livelihoods, and sometimes families in an attempt to escape. Surrogate mothers giving birth are desperately attempting to get the newborn babies to safety, many times unsuccessfully.

Fortunately, global response to these refugees has been more positive than the responses for refugees in other geographical areas. Almost all Western European countries have stated they will accept Ukrainians with open arms, including the UK who created the ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme where the government will pay 350 pounds per month to British citizens who host Ukrainian refugees in their homes. Almost 90,000 Brits signed up just on the first day. Similar schemes have been implemented in Germany and Belgium.

Furthermore, people from all over the world have joined in actions to donate resources to these Ukrainian refugees, including the Esprit de Corps. Thank you to everyone who donated materials, they will be put to good use.

If you are interested in donating to help Ukraine and the refugees, donate to the Esprit de Corps, or alternatively to groups such as the Red Cross, Project Hope, Razom for Ukraine, World Central Kitchen, and more.