IOM Aims to Aid Two Million People in Ukraine in 2025 as War and Displacement Continue 

Kyiv/Geneva, 21 February 2025 – As the full-scale war in Ukraine approaches its fourth year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for USD 255 million to support two million war-affected people in the country in 2025.  

Nearly a third of Ukraine’s population needs humanitarian support, and internally displaced persons and returnees are among the most vulnerable. According to the latest IOM report, nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s 3.7 million internally displaced persons have been away from their homes for more than two years, and tens of thousands of people continue to leave their homes behind every month as they escape from frontline areas, primarily in the east and northeast of Ukraine.   

Many of those displaced have depleted their savings and they lack income opportunities, making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to afford food, medicine and other essentials.   

About 4.2 million people have returned from displacement, a quarter of them reported having returned from abroad. Compared to non-displaced people, returnees are more likely to spend their savings, accept low-paid jobs, and sell their belongings to meet basic needs.  

IOM has been working in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to provide critical aid and other support that can enable communities impacted by the war to recover.   

In Ukraine, IOM is helping to improve living conditions and ensure continued access to services by rehabilitating homes and social institutions, including health clinics and collective centres that are being used as temporary shelter sites. IOM is also donating medical equipment to hospitals, and providing mental health and psychosocial support to people in distress, among other initiatives. Over the past three years, more than six million people in Ukraine have benefitted, directly and indirectly, from IOM’s humanitarian interventions and recovery initiatives.  

In countries that are hosting refugees from Ukraine, IOM supports governments, local authorities and civil society organizations with refugees’ inclusion into local communities, fostering their economic independence through language courses, skills development, and employment support. IOM also continues to address the basic needs – housing, food, clothes, medication, psychosocial support – of newly arriving Ukrainians or those who experience challenges in accessing government assistance. Since February 2022, over 980,000 refugees in neighbouring countries have received direct support and two million people indirectly benefitted from IOM aid.  

IOM and its local partners in Ukraine have also helped over 37,000 survivors of human trafficking, exploitation, and war-related human rights violations such as torture, arbitrary detention, and war-related violence. The aid provided includes medical and psychological support, shelter and food, and connecting survivors with dignified work.   

IOM calls on donors and partners to continue contributing to longer-term solutions to reduce communities’ reliance on humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to prepare the ground for the next steps. Among the most pressing needs are repairing, restoring, and upgrading critical public infrastructure such as energy, water, sanitation, heating, shelter, and affordable housing, as well as creation and retainment of jobs.  

Together with the international community IOM stands ready to continue providing support, for as long as is necessary, to all Ukrainians in need.  

Note to Editor:  

Click here for IOM’s 2025 Crisis Response Plan for Ukraine   

For more information, please contact:   

In Kyiv: Varvara Zhluktenko, vzhluktenko@iom.int    

In Vienna: Keith Begg, kbegg@iom.int   

In Brussels: Ryan Schroeder, rschroeder@iom.int   

In Geneva: Amber Christino, achristino@iom.int