Maria Kliahina's family fled Kyiv when Russia launched the invasion of Ukraine last month, heading west to the city of Uzhhorod on the border with Slovakia.
Now living in a vacant apartment owned by a friend, Ms Kliahina could easily have crossed the border with their eight-year-old son, Bohdan.
But men like her husband, Alexander, who are aged between 18 and 60 and eligible to join the army are banned from leaving the country.
Ms Kliahina has continued to work from home as a marketing manager for a law firm while her husband is helping other displaced people settle in Uzhhorod and her son has been able to continue his school online.
Despite being settled "for now", she said the relocation was a traumatising experience.
A new report by the United Nations International Organisation for Migration (IOM) this week revealed there were now about 6.5 million internally displaced people like Ms Kliahina's family in Ukraine.
This figure accounts for nearly 15 per cent of the country's population and is more than double that of the Ukrainian refugees who have left the country since Russia invaded in February.
The report said being internally displaced looked different for different people.
The majority (32 per cent) were staying with friends or family, while others were staying with strangers, or in hotels and shelters.
The report said a small percentage were homeless.
In the lead-up to the invasion and after, many in Ukraine moved west, away from Russia. About 2 million internally displaced people are believed to have remained in Ukraine's western region.
Ms Kliahina said Uzhhorod did not have enough homes for everyone.
The report said more than half (53 per cent) of displaced people were women and 60 per cent of heads of households surveyed were accompanied by children.
Many were among the most vulnerable: pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, the elderly, and people with disability or chronic illness.
The data came after the IOM conducted a rapid representative assessment, including a survey of 2,000 people.
"Our teams have been reaching thousands of people with essential aid, but we need hostilities to cease in order to be able to reach people in severely affected areas."
Close to half (48.3 per cent) of the internally displaced people left their homes when the war started, while 45.3 per cent only decided to leave once the conflict reached them.
Five per cent had left their homes in anticipation for the conflict.
Why do people decide to stay in Ukraine?
The IOM also found some people were unable to leave their homes despite being in danger due to disability and health.
Others said they would not know where to go, did not want to leave family, or simply could not afford to leave.
Elena Yu, who lives in Melbourne, told the ABC she was worried for her parents, who were both too old to leave their home in Kyiv.
"They chose to stay in their apartment as they are too sick to walk to a bomb shelter and too old and sick to try and escape," she said.
The couple constantly hear explosions in different neighbourhoods nearby as border towns are being destroyed.
Ms Yu said she was devastated for Ukrainians and their country.
Ekateryna Boichenko told the ABC she decided to stay in Kharkiv, where she has lived her whole life, despite it coming under attack by Russian forces.
She lives with her parents, younger brother and grandmother.
She said many of her female friends fled to Poland and Germany with their children, but she believed her home would be safe.
"We decided to stay at home because we don't want to leave our relatives and four cats," she said.
