As the front line of the war in Ukraine has moved, many who fled have returned home. But for those from the country’s east, the prospect of returning has only become more uncertain and remote.
In a report from ground, Mauricio Lima of The New York Times writes an estimated third of Ukraine’s population has been forced from home since Russia invaded in February, including an often unseen group of more than six million people who have been displaced within the country.
The internally displaced people — a larger population than the nearly five million who have fled into Europe — are mostly women and children, many of whom face shortages of food, water and basic necessities. They also are, in large part, from the country’s east, which has become the focus of Russia’s attacks.
Across the Donbas region, many Ukrainians first fled with only a few documents and underwear, thinking they would be back soon. Now, five months into the war, many have started to fear they will never go back.
The few who remain are typically caring for ailing family members, are too poor to move or have stayed to protect property. Some support Russia’s advance toward their towns — a group known as the zhduny, or the waiting ones.
Avril Haines, the U.S. director of national intelligence, outlined plausible scenarios in Ukraine that has direct linkage to the refugee crisis. However, often called “the coolest company in Russia,” Yandex, the Russian version of Google, employed more than 18,000 people. Its founders were billionaires, and, at its peak last November, it was worth more than $31 billion. Then Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and the company all but collapsed.