This used to be a residential building in Bucha it is now synonymous with the mass killing of civilians in the increasingly brutal war in Ukraine life was easy: she and her husband Valerii had just moved into a new apartment in a quiet She had a job as a hairdresser and loved nothing more than when a client left her salon looking beautiful and confident Everything changed one awful morning at the end of February loud and terrifying – roared from the north joined over 7.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) across Europe’s largest country (as of 1 April 2022) they arrived in the western province of Zakarpattia hundreds of kilometers from her shattered home town Yuliia and Artemko at their current refuge in Zakarpattia When Yuliia saw the horrific pictures and videos of the slaughter and destruction in Bucha she instantly burst into tears and remained speechless for a while “This level of violence is impossible to comprehend,” she finally said “That is not something you would wish on the enemy but this is something that will never be forgiven nor forgotten.” Yuliia learned that after her family had left their flat was taken over and their belongings were looted The factory where Yuliia’s mother worked was destroyed by bombs Even though Ukrainian authorities have regained control people are still not allowed to come back home due to risks of mines IOM staff at the school gym in Bushtyno village where the local community stores supplies for internally displaced persons they found a temporary shelter in a school in the small town of Bushtyno Poland and the Czech Republic have done their best to turn impersonal classrooms into cozy bedrooms The sports hall has become a central warehouse for all the necessities of daily life and kind people are helping us in every way they can,” says Yuliia “Even though we are sleeping on mattresses on the floor now missiles are not flying over our heads and my child is safe She hopes that her son will not have any memories of those terrifying weeks of fear and flight “We do not have many personal belongings but what really breaks my heart is that we were not able to take any toys for Artemko which he misses very much and asks all the time when he can come back home to play with them again and even a bike might be relatively easy to come by IOM has been on the ground providing essential humanitarian assistance to displaced people like Yuliia and her family as well as prevention of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and abuse Over 50,000 people have received practical humanitarian help from IOM in Ukraine since the start of the war IOM can save lives by providing crucial assistance wherever andwhenever it's needed the most Give today 17 Route des Morillons,1211 Geneva 19 Subscribe to IOM newsletter to receive the latest news and stories about migration.