FLEEING refugees crammed on to trains. Women trudging through the snow for up to 60 hours clutching what possessions they can carry. The faces of tired children that have already seen too much.

Snapshots that modern, peaceful, integrated Europe thought it would never see again. But we have.

This is a dark new chapter for the people of Ukraine, and for everyone who believes in peace.

Give or take a few changes in hairstyles and clothing, the faces being broadcast today from Kyiv and Kharkiv are the same haunted faces that gaze out from Christian Aid’s picture archives when it was founded in 1945 by British and Irish churches to support refugees after the Second World War.

A child watches from from a train carriage waiting to leave Ukraine for western Ukraine at the railway station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says nearly 120,000 people have so far fled Ukraine into neighboring countries in the wake of the Russian invasion. The number was going up fast as Ukrainians grabbed their belongings and rushed to escape from a deadly Russian onslaught. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko),

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Back then, we worked with partner churches to alleviate suffering by raising the equivalent of £3m in today’s money. We supported, equipped and enabled partner churches in mainland Europe to provide people with what they  needed.

Nearly 80 years later, we are doing the same. To help those in real need in Ukraine, Christian Aid has today launched a crisis appeal.

Once again, we are asking you to be as generous as your parents and grandparents were back in 1945 and donate what you can.

A child says goodbye to a relative looking out the window of a train carriage waiting to leave Ukraine for western Ukraine at the railway station in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022. The U.N. refugee agency says nearly 120,000 people have so far fled Ukraine into neighboring countries in the wake of the Russian invasion. The number was going up fast as Ukrainians grabbed their belongings and rushed to escape from a deadly Russian onslaught. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko).

We’ll be working alongside other UK charities and on the ground with partner organisations in the ACT Alliance, a global faith-based coalition.

The humanitarian challenges in Ukraine are huge. Families have been torn apart and critical infrastructure such as health facilities, water and food supplies and schools have been damaged or destroyed.

Thousands have already fled across borders, and the UN predicts that millions may follow. If the worst scenarios materialise, this will be one of the biggest movements of people in Europe since the Second World War.

The country’s needs were acute even before the events of this last week – 2.9m people already needed help after eight years of conflict in the eastern Donbas region of the country that has left 14,000 dead and 850,000 displaced.

A man looks out of the Dnipro-Truskavets train, at the Lviv railway station, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022, in Lviv, west Ukraine. The U.N. has estimated the conflict could produce as many as 4 million refugees. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue).

It’s not just Ukrainians and the populations of neighbouring states that will be hit. Fragile and conflict-torn countries like Yemen and Lebanon rely on Ukraine and Russia for a high percentage of their wheat imports.

These supplies are under threat and prices are already rising sharply. Together with the impact of the crisis on energy costs, some of the poorest countries in the world will suffer serious collateral damage from the escalating conflict.

Our message is therefore simple: Russia must withdraw its troops immediately, both sides must agree a ceasefire and unequivocally commit to protect civilians and key services.

All parties must abide by international humanitarian law. The UK government must also stand ready to support humanitarian efforts, including by welcoming vulnerable people fleeing the conflict. The unfolding crisis is hard to grasp.

It can feel at moments like this that the world has taken a big step back in its ability to work together for the common good.

Yet, just as the Second World War led to an unprecedented outpouring of humanitarian action, we should see hope in the generous and imaginative public response to the people of Ukraine.

By acting in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, of Afghanistan, and of other countries scarred by conflict, we plant seeds of future peace and point towards a world in which every person can flourish.

Details of the appeal can be found via this link: https://www.christianaid.org.uk/appeals/emergencies/ukraine-crisis-appeal

Patrick Watt is interim CEO  of Christian Aid.

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Stand with Ukraine as Christian Aid launches appeal and how you can help – Patrick Watt

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