2 March 2022 – In a context of rapidly evolving situation on the ground, at least 752 civilian casualties (OCHA) have already been confirmed between 24 February and 2 March – though the real figure is almost certainly much higher – and thousands of people are fleeing major cities of Ukraine. As of early 1 March, at least 850,252 people have already crossed into neighboring countries, according to REACH data (as of early 2 March 2022).
While our activities have been temporarily suspended in the country to ensure the safety of our staff, our teams are preparing to respond in Poland, Romania, and Moldova where refugees continue to arrive after five days of intense clashes across Ukraine.
“As of early March 1, around 453,000 people had reportedly entered Poland, 113,000 into Romania and 106,000 into Moldova. Traffic jams to leave conflict hotspots and to enter neighboring countries are dozens of kilometers long, leaving people to wait for days in their cars. Some decide to leave their vehicles and finish the journey on foot with few belongings. Petrol is hard to get across the country, it’s very cold outside, there is no water, no sanitation facilities along the way. Women, children, and the elderly make up the majority. People require urgent assistance to protect themselves from the cold, get warm food, water while they travel” said the ACTED Country Director.
As the number of civilian casualties continues to grow and damage to critical infrastructure increases, ACTED is scaling-up its humanitarian assistance to help ensure those in transit, internally displaced or remaining in hotspots receive the basic support they need, including cash assistance, water, food and hot meals, blankets, hygiene supplies and access to mobile heating points.
The conflict has already killed 14,000 people in the Donbas area since 2014. ACTED started its operations in Eastern Ukraine in 2015 to provide cash support to vulnerable affected people along the line of contact to help them meet their food, shelter and other basic needs, while working on industrial risks prevention stemming from the conflict. The elderly and children are among the most vulnerable.
