Almost two years after the start of the Russian invasion, on February 24, 2022, Ukraine mourns more than 10,300 civilian deaths, according to the United Nations. Damage from the start of the war to the end of last year was estimated at $486 billion in the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment conducted by the World Bank jointly with the Ukrainian government, the European Commission and the United Nations, with reconstruction efforts lasting ten years in the third
Around 6.5 million people have left the country (six million in European countries, 500,000 in Canada and the United States) and 3.5 million are internally displaced. 16 journalists were killed, but the number rises to 80 if one also takes into account the journalists who died at the front, as reported by the Association of Ukrainian Journalists. And 5,400 educational, cultural and medical facilities were destroyed.
In the first month of hostilities alone, more than 4,200 civilians were killed in Russian attacks. Although lethality has fallen six months after the start of what Vladimir Putin continues to call a special military operation, more than a hundred civilians continue to die every month.
Most of the victims died in rocket attacks, but many also died in the explosion of a mine abandoned by the Russians. Ukraine is now the country with the highest density of mines, and for this reason there is a significant part of the allocations for demining in the military assistance of Kiev's allies and partner countries.
Initially, the Russian armed forces opened several battle fronts, but now the fighting is only taking place in the east, although the Russian air force continues to pressurize the entire Ukrainian territory.
Ten percent of housing in Ukraine has been partially damaged or destroyed, that is (data from the International Organization for Migration) almost 1.4 million houses are damaged, a third of them are considered irreparable.
In addition to Russia, the main European destinations for Ukrainian refugees include Germany with 1.4 million refugees, Poland with 956,000, Great Britain with 250,000 and Spain, which offered refuge to over 192,000 people.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has highlighted that almost 8.5 million people will need its assistance in 2024 and that this will require $3.1 billion. So far only ten percent has been allocated.
This year, the United States became the fund's largest donor to Ukraine, with more than $1 billion, nearly 37.5 percent of the total. The European Union financed another 328 million, about 12.1 percent of the total. The regions where civilian facilities such as schools, cultural centers or health facilities are most affected are Donetsk, followed by Kharkiv and then Odessa.
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