Preparations need to begin soon if aid organizations are to be ready to help millions of Ukrainian refugees before the arrival of winter this year, International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission Anh Nguyen said on Wednesday.
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"We just got out of winter … but this is the normal time period already for us to look into preparations for the next winter," Nguyen said during a roundtable held by the House Foreign Relations Committee.
"We can't afford to miss this window," he said
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According to the United Nations, there are 7.7 million people who are internally displaced in Ukraine and another 6 million who have been forced to flee the country altogether since the attack by Russia began in February.
Nguyen said assistance for these people, including those who may have been able to return to their homes but found them devastated and uninhabitable, would be needed.
Nguyen said humanitarian aid including shelter, food, water and energy–in particular for heating–was necessary.