Ukraine

Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe and is the second largest European country by area. Ukraine had about 41 million inhabitants before the war. The capital Kyiv is located in the north of the country. To the south, Ukraine borders the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. In the Black Sea lies the Crimean peninsula, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine on a full scale. Casualties are rising every day. More than 6 million were forced to flee to neighboring countries, mostly women and children. Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters and is known as the "breadbasket of Europe". The war in Ukraine is therefore driving up global grain prices and having a strong impact on the development of global hunger. Among other things, it is affected by the mining of a large part of its territory. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, by the beginning of 2024, more than 150,000 square kilometres of Ukrainian land will remain potentially contaminated by explosives and mines, representing up to 25% of the country's total area. Welthungerhilfe was not previously active in Ukraine, but since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war we have been supporting internally displaced people in Ukraine and its neighboring countries through the European network Alliance2015 with seven aid organizations.