Stand Up For Ukraine: €9.1 billion pledged in support of internally displaced and refugees

The “Stand Up for Ukraine” global pledging event and campaign has raised €9.1 billion for people fleeing the Russian invasion, inside Ukraine and abroad, including €1 billion from the European Commission. On top of that, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has announced an additional €1 billion in loan to cover the needs of the people displaced by the invasion.

Speaking today in Warsaw where the event was held, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The solidarity of countries, companies and people worldwide offers some light in this dark hour. The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ campaign has raised €9.1 billion for people fleeing bombs, inside and outside Ukraine, with an additional billion pledged by the EBRD. And more will come. We will continue providing support. And once the bombs have stopped falling, we will help the people of Ukraine rebuild their country. We will continue to Stand up for Ukraine.”

Out of these €9.1 billion, €1.8 billion are for internally displaced persons in Ukraine and €7.3 billion are for hosting refugees in EU Member States and neighbouring countries. The pledge is broken down as follows: €4.1 billion are financial contributions and in-kind donations for internally displaced people and refugees pledged by governments, companies and individuals around the world. €5 billion are loans and grants from European public financial institutions (the European Investment Bank, and the Council of Europe Development Bank).

Pledges from governments for internally displaced people in Ukraine will be now channelled largely through the Ukrainian authorities, central and local level. Donations from the private sector and individuals for internally displaced people will be channelled mainly through UN agencies.

The Stand Up For Ukraine online pledging event concludes a broader social media campaign launched by the European Commission and the Canadian Government on Saturday 26 March, in partnership with Global Citizen. The campaign answers a call for support launched by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The aim of the campaign was to raise funding and other types of support to cater for the needs of the people fleeing the invasion inside and outside Ukraine. In recognition of Poland’s essential role in supporting refugees fleeing the invasion of Ukraine, the Stand Up For Ukraine pledging event took place in Warsaw, with the participation of President Andrzej Duda.