An Uncertain Future for Ukrainian Refugees

The majority of the 12 million displaced by the war with Russia may never be able to go home

- DAVID BRENNAN

SHELTER FROM THE STORM Refugees from conflict zones in Donetsk and Luhansk find a temporary home at an unfinished hostel in Dnipro, Ukraine.

SINCE RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE in late February, the destruction of civilian areas has become a hallmark of its war, forcing millions of Ukrainians to flee from the bloodshed and carnage. Many may never return to their homes.

Around 12 million Ukrainians have already been displaced, according to United Nations figures. Among those displaced, 7.1 million remain inside Ukraine and nearly 5.1 million have crossed into bordering nations.

Moscow's "thunder run" attempt to end the war in a matter of days failed spectacularly. Both sides are now settling in for a protracted conflict. Russian bombardments have already devastated many residential areas. Some cities, such as Mariupol in the southeast and some northern suburbs of Kyiv, are uninhabitable, and more will be destroyed before the fighting ends.

Some 75 percent of settlements in the worst-hit areas in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia have reported damage to housing, according to Karolina Billing, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Ukraine. "That's really very, very high," Billing tells Newsweek from Kyiv. "Just seeing the level of destruction, it's clear that this is going to be one of the main impediments to people's ability to return."

Ukraine and its international backers were already struggling to properly support those displaced by eight years of fighting in Donbas.

"That was at a much smaller scale than this," Billing says. "What we really need to realize is that aid is going to be needed for years and decades."