Ukraine

As Ukraine enters the fifth year of full-scale war, the humanitarian crisis remains severe, driven by relentless attacks on civilians and critical civilian infrastructure, recurrent displacement and the systemic degradation of essential services. Many have been forced to evacuate and remain displaced. Across the country, people experienced a sharp escalation in the intensity and geographic reach of attacks in 2025. Strikes have increasingly hit homes, hospitals, schools, energy facilities and transport networks. The reported expanded use of mines, cluster munitions and glide bombs, together with a significant increase in missile and drone strikes compared to 2024, has brought attacks deeper into major cities and areas previously considered safer.

As the war continues, humanitarian needs have evolved and become increasingly severe, overlapping and complex. Simultaneous disruptions to safety, protection, essential services and livelihoods leave families with fewer ways to cope. Nearly 90 per cent of strikes and more than half of civilian casualties occurred¹ within 20 km of the front line, where entire communities were devastated. Civilian harm rose sharply: casualties increased by 27 per cent between January and October compared to the same period in 2024, with nearly 53,000 civilian casualties verified since February 2022. In the northern border regions, such as Sumska and Chernihivska oblasts, escalating cross-border fire and recurrent power cuts continue to disrupt access to essential services.

Vulnerable children, women and girls, older people, people with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups, like the Roma, are most affected. Increased overlapping needs are exacerbated by mobility-related barriers, chronic health issues, livelihood constraints and heightened protection risks. Attacks on schools deprive children of safe learning spaces and expose them to psychosocial distress, compounded by isolation and social disconnect associated with online learning. Older people and people with disabilities, who are often among the last ones to leave front-line areas, lack access to social services and family and community support. Food insecurity is intensifying as attacks destroy markets, supply chains and productive assets, undermining individuals’ and families’ access to food and agricultural livelihoods. Water, sanitation and hygiene conditions, as well as heating systems, are deteriorating, while nationwide energy and water disruptions further limit access. Health needs continue to grow due to disrupted primary care, shortages of medicines and strained referral pathways. Shelter and non-food item needs are severe, affecting one in four households. Gender-based violence (GBV) risks are rising as displacement, economic strain and weakened services deepen vulnerabilities.

Communities living within 0–50 km of the front line face the most acute and life-threatening needs. Constant shelling, pervasive insecurity and heavily damaged power, water and heating systems severely restrict access to basic services. Civilian movement is dangerous and limited, not least due to explosive ordnance contamination. The few remaining health facilities operate with minimal staff and limited supplies, while education services are severely disrupted, forcing children to rely fully on online learning. Older people and people with disabilities, who make up a large share of those remaining in front-line areas, face isolation and are often highly dependent on humanitarian support.

People forced to flee face mounting risks. Shifts in the front line in 2025 triggered new displacements and evacuations, with more than 130,000 people² evacuated with support from the Government or humanitarian actors, and many more fleeing on their own. Older people, persons with disabilities, who are often the last ones to leave, and children face the highest risks during movement, including injury, separation and psychological distress. Transit centres and collective sites frequently operate beyond capacity—overcrowded, with overstretched services and limited accessibility. Housing and employment opportunities in relocation areas remain challenging, and many humanitarian actors involved in evacuations report this as one of the main reasons why people remain in high-risk areas. Additional factors include reliance on or deep attachment to land or livestock.

Civilians in all regions of Ukraine are vulnerable to repeated missile and drone strikes that cause mass-casualty incidents, destroy homes and trigger cascading disruptions to essential services. Systematic attacks on energy infrastructure drive rolling power blackouts that cut heating, water, telecommunications and digital banking, posing immediate risks, particularly in winter and for vulnerable people. Damage to water infrastructure continues to threaten access to safe water, placing more than 11 million people at heightened risk. Since February 2022, over 4,300 war-damaged educational facilities and at least 2,700 verified attacks on health care (facilities, transport, supplies) have significantly undermined the provision of trauma care, chronic disease treatment, maternal, newborn and child health services, and children’s education.

The most vulnerable people who remain displaced experience compounding risks, secondary displacement, premature returns to unsafe areas, harmful coping strategies and severe psychosocial distress. Of nearly 3.7 million people internally displaced, 73 per cent have been displaced for more than two years and 83 per cent for over a year. Protection concerns remain widespread in the front-line areas and hosting regions, where civilians face heightened risks of explosive hazards, arbitrary detention, GBV and severely limited public services. Older people, people with disabilities, women-headed households, children and survivors of violence face the greatest barriers to services during displacement, with limited coping capacity. High housing costs, limited compensation mechanisms and barriers to health care, education and income-generating opportunities further entrench these risks. More than 1,600 collective sites host at least 71,000 people who have limited prospects for local integration. Without adequate support, many resort to harmful coping strategies, such as deferring medical care or heating, taking on unsustainable debt or returning prematurely to unsafe areas. Displaced people with disabilities, including children and older people, are at increased risk of institutionalization, abuse and neglect. The prevalence of housing vulnerability is higher for internally displaced people, further driving protection risks, with many staying in rented accommodation lacking security of tenure. People without social networks or access to state support face heightened risks of exclusion and require targeted assistance to stabilize their living conditions.

Close to one million civilians in territories occupied by the Russian Federation remain largely cut off from essential services, protective systems and are exposed to ongoing insecurity and severe movement restrictions. A worsening water crisis is undermining access to safe water and heating, increasing public health risks and compounding already fragile living conditions. Children in these areas are reportedly subjected to grave violations of their rights and family separation, which aggravates the risks of negative psychological impact. Vulnerable people, including women and girls, are exposed to increased risks of trafficking, sexual exploitation, GBV and other forms of abuse.

While front-line communities face the most acute risks, drone and missile attacks continue across the country as households grapple with rising economic pressures, infrastructure damage and service disruption. Over 2.5 million homes have been damaged or destroyed with direct losses estimated at US$176 billion, severely impacting housing, transport, energy, agriculture and water systems. Mental-health concerns are widespread, with more than 70 per cent of adults reporting anxiety, depression or severe stress. The cumulative impact of the war, especially in the winter months, continues to erode families’ coping capacities, with households reducing spending on essential services, such as health or heating, and struggling with unreliable access to markets and frequent power outages. Falling incomes, inflation and weakened local systems further strain communities hosting displaced people, while even relatively stable regions continue to struggle with disruption in livelihoods and damaged services. The war’s environmental impacts, polluted air and water, damaged soil and forests, add long-term risks to health and recovery.