Vilnius. International Organization for Migration (IOM Lithuania) together with the accommodation platform AirBNB have provided 2,615 free nights to war refugees from Ukraine in six months.

,,We have worked hard to ensure that Ukrainians arriving in Lithuania have shelter for the first few days. There were dozens of cases when people called in the evening to say they were near Vilnius or Klaipėda and asked for help because they had nowhere to stay. People were able to stay in Airbnb accommodation for free while they were looking for a suitable home for a longer period of time," says Dalia Kedavičienė, Coordinator of the Crisis Management Programme at IOM Lithuania. Ukrainians could stay in Airbnb apartments for between 7 and 30 days. The total amount of the assistance is 55 thousand USD dollars.
IOM and AirBNB have successfully implemented the project in 7 countries: Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Lithuania. In total, more than 18,000 Ukrainians benefited from the service over the year.
More than 75,000 war refugees have already arrived in Lithuania, making Lithuania the 4th most populous country in the European Union to receive war refugees from Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, IOM Lithuania has been actively providing assistance to war refugees: it has set up an emotional helpline, organised free English language courses, which have already benefited 300 people, and tele-seminars to answer questions about social services or employment in Lithuania, as well as one-off payments. The funds will help Ukrainian families in Lithuania to cover their basic needs. More than 160,000 euros have now reached them.