Caritas Australia stands in solidarity with the people of eastern Ukraine. We pray for all the people in Ukraine, especially the vulnerable and marginalised communities who will be most severely impacted by the recent escalation of armed conflict.  

Now in its seventh year, the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has dramatically impacted the lives of families, with more than 850,000 people forced to flee their homes and nearly 3 million people relying on humanitarian assistance. The recent escalation of conflict will only increase the number of people displaced and put those already driven from their homes in an even more vulnerable position.   

Hundreds of thousands of people living close to the line of contact between Ukrainian government forces and separatist groups in the Crimean and Donbas regions of eastern Ukraine regularly suffer from disrupted access to food, water and electricity.  

This is already a conflict that impacts people daily – bringing death and injury to thousands of civilians and putting innocent lives at risk from the ongoing violence and insecurity.  

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Active hostilities will dramatically worsen humanitarian need, further restricting people’s movements, disrupting essential public services including water, power, transport and banking, and damaging vital infrastructure and homes.  

We are working with our partner, Caritas Ukraine, to provide vital humanitarian assistance. Caritas Ukraine has been working in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 and has helped nearly 826,500 people affected by the crisis since then.  

Caritas Ukraine will assist the most vulnerable through providing essential emergency response, including emergency shelters, food relief packages and cash distributions. In addition, Caritas Ukraine continues to support impacted communities with the long-term impacts of protracted conflict, including WASH, education and healthcare.  

We have worked hand-in-hand with local communities around the world for decades, and now, as ever, the safety and wellbeing of people remains our priority. We will continue to support and pray for the return of peace to Ukraine.