Before dawn on February 24, Kharkiv delivered a fierce blow. Within 24 hours, Russian troops reached the northern suburbs, just 30 kilometers from the Ukraine-Russia border. Although outnumbering the Ukrainian forces, the invading army was unable to enter the city.
“I come from Kharkiv, from the largest settlement in Ukraine – Saltivka, where about 400,000 people lived before the war,” said Tania, 21, who found a makeshift home in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region and attended join a summer. school run by the United Nations agency for migration (IOM), for young leaders among the displaced and members of host communities.
“For two weeks, my family and I did not leave the subway station, not even for a minute. The subway became the main bomb shelter for locals. I don’t want to leave the city, because my grandparents still stay. But when they came to us in Kharkiv, I decided to run away from the war.”
According to a recent IOM survey, about 28% of the estimated 6.8 million internal migrants (IDPs) in Ukraine have fled the Kharkiv Region. The humanitarian need of those who have chosen to stay, or are unable to flee, is great.
Source of NGO Revival
NGOs provide IOM support not only to communities but also directly to people who are particularly vulnerable.
In May, the city received the first humanitarian convoy from IOM with essential supplies for those in shelters and hospitals, as well as hard-to-reach communities in areas affected by the pandemic. Ukrainian control.
Serhii, head of Source of Revival, one of the largest NGOs in the region and IOM’s implementation partner in Kharkiv Region.
During the first months of the war, the workday of the Revive Source team began at 6 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m., when a curfew was in place and all movement around the city was suspended. prohibit. The location of the warehouses had to be changed several times due to shelling, rockets and air raids.
Not all drivers agree to go to this dangerous area. The situation has since escalated, the number of casualties increasing, but none of the team left Kharkiv. They wear bulletproof vests and helmets to support the IOM for those in need.
Source of NGO Revival
Nadia (r) discovered she was pregnant during heavy shelling in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine.
‘Nothing survived’
Nadia, who now lives on the outskirts of Kharkiv, fled her home in the city of Derhachi due to heavy shelling shortly after discovering she was pregnant in March.
“Now, nothing survives in Derhachi,” she recalls. “There is also shelling here, but not as fierce as in my hometown; Then, when a missile hit a nearby school, we moved again.”
Source of Revival delivered the appropriate humanitarian aid directly from IOM to her makeshift home as moving around unsafe city was a particular challenge for a pregnant woman.
The hardest part of the team’s work was providing aid to the communities that survived the Russian occupation. Although it took time to clear the area after Ukrainian forces restored it, NGOs worked to reach those in need as quickly as possible.
“Some settlements have been razed. There are a lot of local Irpins and Buchas in our area,” said an employee of the Revival Source, referring to two cities in Kyiv that were occupied by Russia at the start of the war, where evidence suggests these violations. Significant human rights violations have been committed against civilians. Exploitation, kidnapping for ransom, robbery, bullying, torture, rape and sexual abuse of women, children, the elderly and men.
Source of NGO Revival
IOM support is reaching affected communities across Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
‘Everything has change’
Humanitarian workers are helping local residents and identifying victims of conflict-related violence. They can all go to the IOM center for physical and psychosocial rehabilitation.
Recently, Kharkiv has received an increasing number of evacuees fleeing the neighboring Donetsk and Luhansk regions. And, despite the security situation, even the people of Kharkiv are returning to their homes with high hopes.
“They wanted to rebuild the place, but things have changed,” said Serhii, whose house was damaged by shelling. “Infrastructure is damaged, houses destroyed, there are no jobs and part of the area is still occupied. The Russian army is trying to get closer to the city, so the threat remains, and the chaotic shelling continues.”
According to the authorities, more than 1,000 civilians in the Kharkiv Region have been killed in the past 181 days, including 50 children, and the number is likely to increase. Calm is deceiving here, and the situation can change in the blink of an eye.
In just one night, on August 18, 21 civilians died and 44 were injured from a missile attack on a residential area. However, as was the case 79 years ago, the locals trust their land and justice, exhibiting the same strength and character as their ancestors.
“I draw strength from my team. I understand that most of them can leave Kharkiv, but they stay. They were the first to put on vests, helmets and go help others,” said Serhii.
Source of NGO Revival
Kharkiv oblast, eastern Ukraine, is still under chaotic shelling.
