Over 1 million refugees fr om Ukraine have received assistance from the Russian Red Cross (RRC) since February 2022. This is about a quarter of the total number of those affected by the Ukrainian crisis who have ended up in Russia.
"In the year and a half since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis, we have covered more than one million refugees with our help and support. According to various estimates, between 2.8 and 5.3 million people have arrived in Russia. So, we have provided assistance to about 25% of the total number of refugees from Ukraine and Donbass who found themselves in our country," shared Pavel Savchuk, President of the Russian Red Cross.
The overwhelming majority (about 3/4) of those who received support from the RRC needed humanitarian aid - food, clothing and hygiene items. More than 640,000 people received humanitarian kits, which is almost 62.5% of the total number; another 91.5 thousand people received vouchers to pharmacies, grocery stores and clothing stores. 91.3 thousand people received material payments from the RRC ranging from 5 to 15 thousand rubles, depending on the size and composition of the family.
In addition to humanitarian and material voucher assistance, the Russian Red Cross provides psychosocial support to refugees from Ukraine. Since February 18, 2022, 96,890 people have received such assistance. They were provided with psychological assistance. RRC case managers also helped those in need with individual issues.
In March 2022, the Russian Red Cross launched a hotline wh ere people can get help in Restoring Family Links and get advice on receiving humanitarian aid, acquiring legal status and accessing medical services, as well as psychological support.
"RRC's hotline operates at 8 800 234 07 07 07 across Russia using artificial intelligence. Over the entire period of time, almost 86 thousand people have contacted it. And 22.5 thousand requests were related to the restoration of family links," said the President of the Russian Red Cross.
Another 5,894 people received support at the mobile aid center of the Russian Red Cross in Belgorod region. There, refugees applied for material payments and restoration the family links, received vouchers, humanitarian aid, psychosocial support and SIM cards with a preferential tariff. In total, 9 thousand people have received such SIM cards since the beginning of the Ukrainian crisis. In addition, 5.3 thousand people have been trained in first aid skills.
"We constantly monitor the needs of those affected by the Ukrainian crisis, as well as work on individual requests. This allows us to provide people with exactly the help they need in a timely and efficient manner," Pavel Savchuk added.
