Ukraine Crisis
Your support can provide vital shelter, food, clean water and protection to vulnerable families fleeing conflict.
Give now to help Caritas staff and partners on the ground deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid.
17.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance
Over 6.6 million people are internally displaced
The war in Ukraine continues to be marked by indiscriminate shelling in civilian areas with the number of civilian casualties rising to over 12,000 people and close to 1,000 children.
Civilian infrastructure in Ukraine continue to be targeted including water supplies, gas and electric supplies, hospitals, and homes. Currently, the most urgent needs are helping displaced people access safe shelter, emergency food, water, hygiene kits, medication and psychosocial support.
Caritas Ukraine and other Caritas agencies in neighbouring countries continue to provide urgent support to displaced people. The Caritas Ukraine network is supported by 448 parish hubs and more than 1200 employees covering most regions of Ukraine and providing services in urban and rural areas. With your help, Caritas Ukraine has assisted more than 1.5 million people since the conflict began, while Caritas Spes Ukraine has supported more than 2.4 million people affected by the war.
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Our partners are on the ground in times of crisis, providing:
Food & clean water
More than 311,915 displaced people received food and 74,419 individuals received clean water
Emergency shelters
17,352 people were able to access safe accommodation across 293 centres
Medical support
More than 23,069 people accessed basic family medicines and 229,957 people received hygiene supplies
Psychosocial support
18,685 people accessed psychosocial support services, including vulnerable children
Moldovan families open their homes to Ukrainian refugees
Nearly one-third of Ukrainians have been forced from their homes, with more than 14 million people fleeing to neighbouring countries or internally displaced within Ukraine. The massive influx of displaced people from Ukraine is putting an enormous strain on existing response capacities. Nearly half a million refugees have crossed the border to Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Europe.
As part of our Ukraine response, we are supporting CRS Moldova to provide transitional accommodation to Ukrainians displaced by the conflict. The Safe and Dignified accommodation program aims to support families to find long-term and safe accommodation. It also provide financial support for host families like Olga, who are housing Ukrainian refugees in their homes.
I was watching TV, and I started to cry, seeing what destruction there is in Ukraine...when [the refugees] got to my house, those kids, they started crying and got on their knees. And they say, “Mum, it is so good here.”
Illyena's story
When the first bombs fell on the city of Kharkiv in north-east Ukraine, 23-year-old Ilyena, her husband Andrei and their 9-month-old son Bagdan fled to a crowded metro station. They were hoping to take a train to Lviv in western Ukraine, but it was impossible to get a seat.
Desperate to leave the city, they decided to drive to the border, but they had left their car in front of their house - six metro stations away. It was dark, public transport was not running and there was a curfew imposed across the city. So, they had to walk along the tracks of the underground metro tunnel for hours until they reached their home.
It took them six days to drive to the Polish border and they had to find a new place to sleep every night. After they crossed the border, volunteers from Caritas Poland helped Illyena access a sheltered room for mothers and children, where she can access the necessities she needs to care for Bagdan.
Ilyena and her baby are now safe, but they had to say goodbye to Andrej, who had to stay behind as most Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 cannot leave the country.
Before the war, I worked as the manager of projects for children, and now I am responsible for provision of humanitarian assistance for Internally Displaced People. In these conditions, I really feel how much we help and how strong we have become.
The funds raised through this appeal will be used to provide immediate and longer-term humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the conflict in Ukraine, and to displaced Ukrainians in neighbouring countries. Caritas Australia will use these donations through our partners in Ukraine and neighbouring countries where possible.
Where this is not possible, the funds will be used to provide immediate and longer-term development and humanitarian assistance to communities affected by crises and poverty across the world. If any excess funds remain after a crisis, or if there are changes in circumstances beyond our control that limit our ability to use the funds, they are kept in the Emergency Response Appeal so that we can respond to ongoing development needs and future crises across all our regions.