Ukraine war one year on: what happened to Ukrainian refugees in Sheffield since the conflict with Russia began

Eight million refugees are estimated to have fled Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion almost one year ago, and a further 5.9 million people have been displaced within the country.

Data published on February 17 by the UN Refugee Agency sourced from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also shows thousands of civilians have been caught in the crossfire, with 7,199 deaths being recorded, and a further 11,756 civilian casualties.

The Russian military has also brutally targeted civilian infrastructure, with almost 800 attacks of healthcare facilities, and more than 2,500 education facilities being reported.

As we head into the second year of conflict, with no end in sight, we explain what has happened to the tens of thousands of refugees who now call the UK, and specifically Sheffield, home.

Where have Ukrainian refugees gone?

Data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been tracking the movement of refugees out of Ukraine and into countries in surrounding Europe and Asia since the beginning of the conflict.

In March last year, the UK Government announced the Homes for Ukraine scheme which allowed households across the country to open their doors and welcome in a Ukrainian family or individual for a minimum of six months.

The scheme saw hundreds of thousands of refugees apply for visas to enter the UK, with Home Office figures as of February 7 showing almost 270,000 Ukrainians had made a visa application. Through both the Homes for Ukraine and Ukraine Family Scheme, it is estimated that 161,400 refugees have arrived in the UK.

As of February 14, UK Government statistics have shown that a total of 872 applications were made under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in Sheffield since the war began, with 745 visas issued. However, of these visas issued, only 20 per cent, or 598 people, have currently arrived in the UK by sponsor location.

The UK authority with the most Ukrainian refugees under the Hoes for Ukraine scheme is Buckinghamshire which has had 2,062 visa applications, 1,795 visas issues, and 1,527 refugees enter the authority.

Survey data published by the Office of National Statistics revealed that moving to the UK has come with challenges for refugees, with 50 per cent of respondents stating they had experienced difficulties taking up work, with 56% of these respondents saying their English language skills did not meet the job requirement, and 33 per cent said their qualifications were not valid in the UK.

Further figures by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has shown that 30 of the Ukrainian refugees that had arrived in Sheffield were owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty as of 27 January, which come into place when a person is threatened with homelessness or is already homeless. In Sheffield, all of these cases were due to accommodation arrangements having broken down.