On 3 May, 2024 First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha met with Karolina Lindholm Billing, Head of UNHCR Representation in Ukraine.

The parties praised the level of cooperation between Ukraine and UNHCR, which is primarily aimed at overcoming the consequences of Russian aggression.

"We are grateful to the UNHCR for the assistance provided since the beginning of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine," the First Deputy Minister said.

Andrii Sybiha stressed that Ukraine counts on UNHCR's support in implementing projects aimed at returning millions of Ukrainians home and creating appropriate socio-economic conditions for this. In this regard, the parties discussed the creation of a digital platform for communication and dissemination of information among Ukrainians abroad, as well as further social research.

In addition, the First Deputy Minister praised the organisation's involvement in implementing programmes to provide assistance to affected communities, housing, and access to basic services and noted the importance of implementing projects to support mental and psychosocial health.

The interlocutors reaffirmed the urgency of further maintaining the scale of assistance to Ukraine to provide vital aid to Ukrainians and affected communities.

The parties also discussed the deportation of Crimean Tatars and the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of their forced deportation.

The interlocutors also discussed the implementation of joint projects to strengthen the technical capacity of the MFA of Ukraine's consular service, which will help improve the accessibility and quality of consular services for millions of Ukrainians abroad.

For reference: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is one of the most active UN agencies in providing assistance to internally displaced people in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia on 24 February 2022, UNHCR has significantly expanded its activities in Ukraine and in countries hosting forcibly displaced people from Ukraine. Today, UNHCR has ten offices/logistics hubs in Ukraine with a staff of nearly 370 staff members (Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Luhansk, Lviv, Odesa, Uzhhorod, Vinnytsia).

In 2023, UNHCR's humanitarian operations in Ukraine totalled $450 million and reached 2.63 million people. UNHCR coordinates the implementation of a regional plan to assist Ukrainians displaced abroad. In 2023, under this programme, $734 million was allocated to support 2,1 people in other European countries, primarily those bordering Ukraine (Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary).

In 2024, UNHCR is appealing for $598.9 million to provide humanitarian assistance to 2.1 million people in Ukraine.

An essential element of UNHCR's work in Ukraine is emergency shelter and housing assistance, which is implemented under the Ukraine is Home platform. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, UNHCR has supported over 29 thousand households with home repairs. UNHCR is also implementing one of the largest cash assistance programmes for war-affected people in Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, more than $475 million in cash assistance has been provided.