The article deals with the topical issue of internal displacement and the social services provided for the people affected by it. The author analyses the situation of the internally-displaced persons (IDPs) moving from the war-affected Donbas (the eastern part of Ukraine) in the context of the social services they need and receive in actuality. In the first section of the paper the scale of the displacement problem is highlighted in terms of the number and socio-demographic indicators of displaced people, their geographic location, problems they face, and pressing issues of their social support. The second section outlines the processes of gradual adaptation of IDPs to their new conditions, efforts they undertake to overcome the vicissitudes of their life in the context of the motivational structure of the displaced. In the third section, major features of the social policy towards IDPs, its achievements and drawbacks, and its tendencies hereafter are delineated. The paper ends with tentative recommendations as to the improvement of public services for IDPs.