Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed IOM Director General Amy Pope's visit, saying he was "grateful to IOM for helping Ukrainian families, first of all, with housing. This is a top priority for those whose lives have been shattered by the war."

Zelenskyy stressed, however, that Ukraine counted on continued support from the IOM, as the war is now raging in its third year.

At a roundtable discussion with donors in Kyiv on Thursday (April 11), Director General Pope called on the international community to "stay the course in assisting Ukraine and not turn away at this critical moment."

She also signed renewed bilateral cooperation agreements with the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, focusing on recovery and reconstruction, with an emphasis on economic revitalization, IOM said.

Meeting people affected by the war

The UN agency said that Pope arrived in Kyiv after a journey through heavily damaged areas, including Odesa and Mykolaiv.

She paid tribute to the resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the recovery efforts led by local and national authorities, while warning that much more aid was still needed:

"I am inspired and humbled by the strength of those I've met -- women who have travelled from regions that were under active attack, who left with very little but the clothes on their back and their children in their car," said Pope after meeting displaced people at an IOM-supported shelter in the frontline city of Mykolaiv.

Pope's visit began one day after fresh Russian attacks had killed dozens of civilians in the east and south of Ukraine, prompting the director general to warn that the humanitarian situation is actually worsening for many.

"These constant attacks remind us of the tremendous resilience of Ukrainians and their immediate needs," she was quoted as saying in the statement. "Displaced people and host communities need urgent assistance as they continue to endure missile strikes, destruction of infrastructure, and frequent power cuts."

More than three million in need of immediate aid

IOM says it estimates more than 3.3 million people, including 800,000 children, living along the frontlines are in dire need of emergency assistance.

As the war enters a protracted phase, at least 14.6 million people -- a staggering 40 per cent of Ukraine's population -- require humanitarian aid.

This number continues to grow each day, the UN agency noted.

According to the recently launched IOM Strategic Response Plan for Ukraine and Neighbouring Countries, the IOM requires 1.5 billion US dollars for response programming in Ukraine and 11 countries within the region over the next three years. In Ukraine alone, an estimated 370.3 million US dollars is required in 2024 alone.