On February 24, at 5:00 a.m. Ukrainians woke up to the sound of Russian missiles. Here are other key numbers related to the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Leaflet was originally developed and published within the project Sharethetruths.org, supported by Heinrich Boell Foundation.
Casualties
As of May 30, 8900 civilian casualties were recorded as result of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine: 4074 killed, including 262 children; 4826 injured, including 415 children, mostly caused by shelling and airstrikes. The actual toll is much higher.
Occupation
As of May 18, 292 communities have been occupied or blocked by Russian forces in the seven regions of eastern and southern Ukraine.
Forced migration
As of May 18, around 8 000 000 were forced to become internally displaced persons in Ukraine due to Russian invasion. As of May 26, 2022, 6 659 220 persons were recorded to leave Ukraine fleeing for their lives. Yet, there has also been a significant move in the opposite direction, both from abroad – 2.2 million border crossings – and internally – an estimated 2.77 million IDPs have returned to their homes or what was left of them.
Deportation
Russian forces have been rounding people up in areas of Ukraine’s south and east and detaining them in ‘filtration camps’, where they are undergoing interrogations. The filtration camps were designed to weed out politically dangerous or ideologically unreliable elements of Ukrainian society before the deportation to Russian territories. For its part, the Russian government has denied that it is forcibly deporting Ukrainian citizens to Russia, instead referring to the deportations as ‘evacuations’. Russian authorities held the deportation of more than 1 377 925 Ukrainians to Russia, including 232 480 children.
Mariupol
For 86 days Ukrainian fighters were standing for Mariupol, while the Azovstal steel plant turned into the final fortress of the resistance. On May 20, the last group of Ukrainian forces left the plant. Hours earlier, President Zelenskiy announced the military command ordered Azovstal defenders to leave the site and save their lives.
EU integration
Ukraine has applied for EU membership and fully submitted the questionnaire. 71% of Europeans believe that Ukraine is part of the European family. 86% of Ukrainians support Ukraine’s EU membership.
Economic security
EBRD in its latest report is predicting a greater economic slowdown in Ukraine as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion. According to the forecast, Ukraine’s economy will face negative growth of 20% in 2022. The Minister of Finance of Ukraine says Ukraine needs at least $ 5 billion monthly to cover operational costs during the war.
Infrastructure damages
As of May 19, the total amount of direct documented infrastructure damages, based only on public sources, is $97.4 billion. European Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis says Ukraine would need around €500-600 billion for reconstruction.
Health security
616 health care facilities have been damaged, and 101 hospitals have been completely destroyed since the beginning of the Russian war in Ukraine. Around 200 ambulances were seized by Russian authorities. The World Health Organization reports at least 3000 people with chronic diseases have died since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Food security
Ukraine plays a major role in global food markets, being one of the key exporters of cereal crops: wheat (8.9%), maize (corn) (16%), and barley (9.7%), as well as sunflower oil (42%). Ukraine provides food for 400 million people. The Ministry of Agriculture said Russian authorities had seized between 400 000 and 500 000 tonnes of grain from across the territory it has occupied, taking most of it to Crimea. Ukraine temporarily suspends export of the products crucial for food security: rye, oats, buckwheat, millet, meat, sugar, salt.
Education
1888 Ukrainian educational institutions have suffered from bombing and shelling, 180 of them totally destroyed since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Culture
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy recorded 300 cases of destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage sites due to the war with Russia as of May 7.
Media
Russia committed 280 crimes against journalists. As of May 24, the Russian soldiers had killed 29 journalists, including seven media workers who were reporting from the frontlines. At least 15 journalists are still missing. Russian forces continue to kidnap and capture media representatives. Nine cases of journalists being abducted were reported. At least 113 regional media outlets were forced to shut down due to threats from the Russian forces, seizure of newsrooms, and inability to operate under temporary occupation.
Environmental security
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources reported 245 cases of ecocide and 1.5 thousand cases of looting of Ukrainian lands and destruction of ecosystems.
Demining
As of May 28, 123 385 explosive devices have been neutralized since the beginning of the Russia’s full-scale invasion, including 1983 aircraft bombs. The State Emergency Services report that the area of 23 772 hectares has been cleared.