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Country analysis

Belarus

After the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2014, in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion from Russian and Belarusian territory into northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine. This has resulted in mass displacement within Ukraine and abroad, mostly to the EU.

As at the end of 2023, 40,000 people from Ukraine remained displaced in Belarus, around 3,400 of whom had applied for temporary protection status. The majority (over 65%) were women displaced from eastern Ukraine. An IOM survey conducted in the first quarter of 2023 showed that around 60% of the displaced people intended to stay in Belarus for the foreseeable future, while around 15% intended to move to a third country.

Main needs include health and nutrition, livelihoods, education access, and multipurpose cash assistance. Protection concerns are high, particularly for children illegally moved from the occupied areas in Ukraine towards Belarus. Other needs include legal assistance and long-term accommodation. According to the latest IOM survey, as at March 2023, 30% of the surveyed refugees from Ukraine were staying with friends or family, while around 50% rented accommodation.

(CFR accessed 23/11/2023, UNHCR accessed 29/01/2024, The Guardian 19/09/2023, IOM 31/05/2023, UNHCR 19/06/2023)

After the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2014, in February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion from Russian and Belarusian territory into northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine. This has resulted in mass displacement within Ukraine and abroad, mostly to the EU.

As at the end of 2023, 40,000 people from Ukraine remained displaced in Belarus, around 3,400 of whom had applied for temporary protection status. The majority (over 65%) were women displaced from eastern Ukraine. An IOM survey conducted in the first quarter of 2023 showed that around 60% of the displaced people intended to stay in Belarus for the foreseeable future, while around 15% intended to move to a third country.

Main needs include health and nutrition, livelihoods, education access, and multipurpose cash assistance. Protection concerns are high, particularly for children illegally moved from the occupied areas in Ukraine towards Belarus. Other needs include legal assistance and long-term accommodation. According to the latest IOM survey, as at March 2023, 30% of the surveyed refugees from Ukraine were staying with friends or family, while around 50% rented accommodation.

(CFR accessed 23/11/2023, UNHCR accessed 29/01/2024, The Guardian 19/09/2023, IOM 31/05/2023, UNHCR 19/06/2023)

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Latest updates on country situation

28 November 2023

By the end of November 2023, the number of refugees from Ukraine in Belarus had increased to 37,000 from 22,000 in June. Most refugees came from conflict-affected oblasts, such as the eastern oblasts of Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk. 80% were displaced in 2022, and the number has continued to gradually increase in 2023. Based on the latest UNHCR survey conducted between April–September, around 35% were staying in rented accommodation, while 40% were with relatives. Cash assistance was reported as the most urgent need and preferred modality of assistance. Healthcare access was unaffordable for 80% of those surveyed. Among the main information gaps are the number of unaccompanied children displaced to Belarus from areas under Russian control in Ukraine and the full extent of the protection risks they are facing. (UNHCR accessed 28/11/2023, UNHCR 10/11/2023, UNHCR 19/06/2023, Conflict Observatory 16/11/2023)

current crises
in Belarus

BLR002 - Displacement from Russia-Ukraine conflict

Last updated 30/11/2024

Drivers

Displacement
Conflict

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

1.9 Low

Access constraints

3.0

Analysis products
on Belarus

Migration crisis on the Poland-Belarus border

01 July 2022

Migration crisis on the Poland-Belarus border

DOCUMENT / PDF / 330 KB

This report outlines the living conditions and needs of migrants and asylum seekers stranded in the Poland-Belarus border area as a result of a political crisis and migration policies. It is an update of a similar ACAPS report published in December 2021.

Mixed migration
Migration crisis on the Belarus-Poland border

02 December 2021

Migration crisis on the Belarus-Poland border

DOCUMENT / PDF / 610 KB

Thousands of migrants have been arriving to the Belarusian border since July 2021. As at 13 November, an estimated 20,000 migrants and asylum seekers are present in Belarus. At least 5,000 people are stuck on the Poland-Belarus border without adequate access to services or assistance. 

Mixed migration
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