Refugees face mass starvation

A Catholic bishop has voiced fears that mass starvation could soon force millions of refugees from eastern Ukraine to flee to Europe, writes Jonathan Luxmoore.

Bishop Jan Sobilo, an auxiliary in the Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, claims a Russian-backed separatist campaign is fuelling Ukraine’s “worst humanitarian crisis” since the Second World War.

“The West should prepare itself to accept the millions of homeless, hungry refugees who will soon head across central and western Ukraine towards Europe,” said Bishop Sobilo.

Aid organisations also warned of growing starvation and deprivation in eastern Ukraine. The bishop told The Tablet that a lack of water currently posed the “biggest problem” in rebel-held Donetsk and Luhansk, where food prices were three times higher than in the rest of the country.