Mapping Ukraine: Rapid displacement and a flood of global help
People stand in a long line during the distribution of humanitarian aid near damaged blocks of apartments in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, March 24, 2022.
Pavel Klimov/Reuters
War in Ukraine has meant massive displacement for the nation鈥檚 people. Their need 鈥� and Russia鈥檚 threat to Ukraine鈥檚 territorial sovereignty 鈥� has also sparked a massive global response of aid and support.
What鈥檚 remarkable is the combination of scale and speed. Ukraine may lag behind Syria as a source of refugees in recent years, yet the crisis in Ukraine has caused about 1 in 4 Ukrainians to leave their homes 鈥� and in the space of just a few weeks.
Some $1 billion in private charitable donations for Ukraine doesn鈥檛 yet outweigh donations that helped victims of Hurricane Katrina. But philanthropic pledges are growing about as fast聽聽after Katrina. Military and humanitarian assistance from nation states pushes the total much higher still.
Why We Wrote This
Sometimes a big news event is best understood when viewed through multiple lenses. On Ukraine, in addition to our text stories and our , we view the conflict here through graphics 鈥� to show the scale of human displacement and aid in response.
Our graphics (below) depict how Russia鈥檚 invasion has affected many of Ukraine鈥檚 most populous areas.聽One key question now is how to get the targeted relief to where it鈥檚 needed.
鈥淚n the current crisis, national and international humanitarian groups have limited or no access to areas under attack,鈥澛犅燽y the U.S. Congressional Research Service says.聽
Another major challenge: Helping front-line nations like Poland that have been flooded with people fleeing Ukraine. The European Union has adopted a measure providing temporary protection to persons fleeing Ukraine聽聽to affected neighboring countries as well as to Ukraine itself.