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full screen UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine, Karolina Lindholm Billing, at a previous press conference via video link. Archive image. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says that operations in Ukraine are underfunded and that it may be difficult to help the vulnerable during the winter.
UNHCR’s representative in Ukraine, Swedish Karolina Lindholm Billing, says that support may be necessary for vulnerable areas in Ukraine, as Russian invasion forces direct attacks against infrastructural targets such as power plants, energy networks and electricity supply. This affects the population at large, but internally displaced persons are particularly vulnerable.
– The reality is that the financial support for organizations like ours is far too low this late in the (fiscal) year, says Lindholm Billing, adding that the business is only covered financially to 47 percent.
Around 3.6 million internally displaced people are estimated to be in Ukraine. Further refugees are expected to find their way to the west of the country due to the Russian offensive in Donetsk, among others. Since August 1, nearly 99,000 people have fled from villages at the front, according to Lindholm Billing:
– Expectations and requests from authorities for support from organizations such as UNHCR have actually increased.