Russia: ICRC helps displaced people start over
Since February 2022, many people have fled the hostilities linked to the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The ICRC has been assisting displaced individuals on both sides of the front lines. In Russia, we work with the Russian Red Cross to provide emergency support and cash assistance to affected individuals, as well as other programmes designed to help them rebuild their lives and create sustainable sources of income.
In March 2022, Tatiana had to leave everything behind, as hostilities broke out in her hometown close to Luhansk. “At first, we thought it would be just on the outskirts, like in 2014,” she recalls. “Unfortunately, throughout the entire month, military actions took place here, right on the street where we lived.”
She eventually fled her home along with her family and her two dogs.
Once in Kursk, Tatiana first received emergency assistance from the Russian Red Cross, through a joint ICRC and Russian Red Cross cash programme. Soon she realized that returning would take very long and she should find a way to make a living in Kursk. One day, as she was checking the Russian Red Cross social media channel, she found information on a vocational training programme. She hesitated at first. Then, “I pulled myself together and decided that to develop and survive in the future, to find a decent profession, I first had to gain knowledge.” She applied and was accepted for training in the field of office administration and human resources.
Tatiana, who fled hostilities in the Luhansk region, pulled herself together and successfully learned a new profession.
Like Tatiana, many people displaced by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine still need to find stability and regular income. “When people flee hostilities, they often hope to soon come back home,” explains M. Silin, the head of the Economic and Security programme for the ICRC Moscow regional delegation. “But as time passes, as the conflict continues, plans change, as do their needs. Many do not want to rely on emergency assistance and want to find a job and stable income.”
Started in Russia in 2022, the emergency and relief cash assistance programme is meant to help families in the first stages of displacement - for instance following the hostilities in Kursk in 2024 - or to give regular support to vulnerable households. As the conflict continued and people remained displaced with little prospects or few wishing to return, the ICRC with the support of the Russian Red Cross put in place two programmes to improve their professional prospects and help them generate an income over the mid-to-long term: vocational training in various fields of work, and grants to support their businesses (micro-economic initiatives programme).
Vocational training to acquire professional skills
From photography to plumbing, from hairdressing to health care - vocational training can support all kinds of career changes. So far, 449 people have benefitted from this programme implemented by the Russian Red Cross.
Liliya fled the shelling in her hometown Snijnoe in the Horlivka region. She could have considered staying, but it was far too dangerous with her child who has disabilities and the prospect of not being able to access the proper medication. Taking care of her child continued guiding her once displaced. Once settled in the Russian city Voronezh, she applied to the vocational training programme and received an online course to tutor children with disabilities. “I would like to help children who face the same challenges, who have problems with speech development. Taking part in this process, trying to help them, and achieving results.” Liliya now works in a medical centre dedicated to children, as a speech therapist and specialist in the development of children with disabilities.
Supporting people’s business plans
In May 2025, the ICRC decided to launch a new programme, also implemented jointly with the RRC: the micro-economic initiatives. The idea is to help displaced people improve their income by supporting their business through a cash grant. Agriculture, education, beauty, nursing, manufacturing and craft – many people have already been supported in a variety of professional spheres.
“I am always thinking about how to earn my living,” explains Maksim. “In fact, we are a large family, and my wife eventually heard that it was possible to apply for a grant.” He and his family left a neighbouring town of Donetsk in 2022 and settled in Rostov-on-Don. A railway specialist, he has undertaken training to become a plumber. The cash grant has enabled him to buy the material needed to start his own business and he has already noticed a significant increase in income. “Probably, by the end of the year I will switch totally. I won’t be working as a railway specialist and will dive completely into the installation of plumbing systems. I like it.”
In 2025, with the Russian Red Cross, we supported vulnerable displaced people in 7 regions (Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Krasnodar, Kursk, Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh) through various programmes.
- Almost 13,000 people received cash assistance
- 6,720 primary school children from displaced families received vouchers for the purchase of school materials
- 174 people benefitted from a vocational training
- 64 people received a cash grant through the micro-economic initiative
These programmes will continue in 2026.
