Since Russia escalated its war in Ukraine in February, aid workers and volunteers have been reporting instances of human trafficking on Ukraine’s borders. While people are often captured and sold during conflict, the unprecedented speed and scope of Ukrainians displaced and dispersed across Europe makes this situation worse. While we don’t yet know how much human trafficking Russia’s war in Ukraine has spawned, my trafficking research finds that some countries are better prepared than others to assist and rehabilitate victims.
How many Ukrainian refugees have been trafficked? We won’t know for years.
Volunteers give out food and other provisions to displaced Ukrainians on arrival at the Berlin Central railway station in Germany on March 9. (Jacobia Dahm/Bloomberg News)
Their fates will depend in part on which country they’ve landed in – and whether that country has comprehensive policies and services