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Country analysis

Russia

The Russia–Ukraine conflict began in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, triggering mass displacement within Ukraine and abroad. An estimated 1.2 million Ukrainians had been displaced to Russia by 2023, including forcibly. No reliable sources are available to cross-verify the number of displaced or arbitrarily detained people in 2025.

Information barriers compound operational constraints, creating an invisible displacement crisis systematically obscured by the Russian authorities, who also deny the forcible displacement of over 19,000 unaccompanied Ukrainian children and their protection needs. Despite the scale of displacement and international humanitarian, human, and child rights law violations, overlapping political issues prevent a principled humanitarian response.

Legal and administrative barriers, notably the foreign agent law, constrain humanitarian access. Russian authorities do not allow UNHCR to respond directly and continue to block an independent response.

In line with broader occupation tactics, Russia also often coerces the displaced into accepting Russian passports in exchange for access to the essential services to which they are legally entitled. Based on existing information from returnees, needs include protection, health, shelter, financial and legal assistance, family reunification, documentation, and returns. Access to medical care for 16,000 civilian detainees and prisoners of war remains constrained. (CFR accessed 30/07/2025, People in Need 18/06/2025, (FMR 08/2023, ICNL accessed 30/07/2025, (Ukrainska Pravda 06/05/2025)

The Russia–Ukraine conflict began in 2014 and escalated into a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, triggering mass displacement within Ukraine and abroad. An estimated 1.2 million Ukrainians had been displaced to Russia by 2023, including forcibly. No reliable sources are available to cross-verify the number of displaced or arbitrarily detained people in 2025.

Information barriers compound operational constraints, creating an invisible displacement crisis systematically obscured by the Russian authorities, who also deny the forcible displacement of over 19,000 unaccompanied Ukrainian children and their protection needs. Despite the scale of displacement and international humanitarian, human, and child rights law violations, overlapping political issues prevent a principled humanitarian response.

Legal and administrative barriers, notably the foreign agent law, constrain humanitarian access. Russian authorities do not allow UNHCR to respond directly and continue to block an independent response.

In line with broader occupation tactics, Russia also often coerces the displaced into accepting Russian passports in exchange for access to the essential services to which they are legally entitled. Based on existing information from returnees, needs include protection, health, shelter, financial and legal assistance, family reunification, documentation, and returns. Access to medical care for 16,000 civilian detainees and prisoners of war remains constrained. (CFR accessed 30/07/2025, People in Need 18/06/2025, (FMR 08/2023, ICNL accessed 30/07/2025, (Ukrainska Pravda 06/05/2025)

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Latest updates on country situation

28 July 2025

Russian authorities are threatening Ukrainian residents living in occupied areas of Donetska, Khersonska, Luhanska, and Zaporizka oblasts with forced displacement should they not accept Russian citizenship within 90 days of 10 September 2025. Added threats include property loss, exposure to winter conditions, family separation, and being stranded on the Russian border for an indefinite period of time. Russian authorities already employ coercive passportisation measures, such as restricting access to healthcare, employment, pensions, and education. (HRW 25/03/2025, Zmina 03/07/2023, AJ 23/07/2025)

05 December 2023

In November 2023, the Russian authorities arrested a volunteer assisting refugees from Ukraine in the bordering Belgorod oblast in Russia. Volunteer groups fill an important gap, providing critical assistance for populations not covered by the Russian State or registered humanitarian organisations. These populations include the displaced people transiting through Russia after their refusal of the Russian passport deprived them of access to essential services in Russian-controlled areas in Ukraine. ([Current Time 20/11/2023(https://www.currenttime.tv/a/demidenko-delo-o-gosizmene/32692114.html), 7x7 10/10/2023, BBC 12/10/2023)

15 November 2023

Ukrainian prisoners of war may still be facing forceful conscription in Russia in 2023. Since 2014, as many as 40,000 people may have been forcefully conscripted. Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees face severe protection risks, including the widespread use of torture, while humanitarian access to them remains constrained. (CNN 10/11/2023, IWPR 06/06/2023, T4P 15/09/2023)

current crises
in Russia

RUS002 - Displacement from Ukraine

Last updated 18/08/2025

Drivers

International Displacement

Crisis level

Country

Severity level

Access constraints

3.0