This year, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine will reach a grim milestone, grinding into its fifth year. Since 24 February 2022, ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure continue to strain living conditions for millions, and overall, an estimated 10.8 million people across Ukraine will require humanitarian assistance this year.
In 2025, the United Nations verified that over 2,500 people were killed and more than 12,000 were injured. Out of these, 92 children were killed and 652 were injured.
“The longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes. Civilians bear the brunt of this conflict, with 2025 witnessing the largest number of civilians killed in Ukraine. This is simply unacceptable. I reiterate my call for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the occasion of the fourth anniversary.
“This devastating war is a stain on our collective consciousness, and remains a threat to regional and international peace and security,” Mr. Guterres added, calling for peace in line with the UN Charter, international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, respecting Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
UN agencies such as OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency), WHO (World Health Organization), UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and WFP (World Food Programme), among many others, coordinate and deliver aid to Ukraine.
Strikes on homes, schools, hospitals
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. Nearly 90 per cent of strikes and more than half of civilian casualties occurred within 20 km of the front line, where entire communities were devastated.
According to new data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an estimated 325,000 Ukrainian returnees could be displaced again in the coming months, with more than one-third considering moving abroad again. As of January 2026, Ukraine hosts 3.7 million internally displaced people. Since the escalation of the war, more than 4.4 million people have returned from displacement. This includes over one million people who returned from abroad. However, not all those who crossed back into Ukraine have been able to return home, with 372,000 people still internally displaced within the country.
Winter response plan to reach over 1.7 million
In 2026, 4.12 million people are targeted for humanitarian assistance, with 3.58 million prioritized. This slight decrease from 2025 does not reflect an improvement in the situation, but rather a more focused and highly prioritized response. The 2025–2026 Winter Response Plan aims to deliver essential multisectoral humanitarian assistance to over 1.7 million people — including more than 356,000 displaced people and approximately 1.3 million non-displaced conflict-affected people — during the winter period from October 2025 to March 2026.
The response requires US$277.7 million in funding. Nearly 31,000 people hosted in collective sites will be supported through essential repairs to heating systems, small-scale maintenance and fuel support through tailored area-based approaches and strong coordination with local authorities and national NGOs.
Examples of what the UN is doing on the ground in Ukraine
WFP: delivers food kits and ready-to-eat food rations, primarily in hard-to-reach and frontline areas where commercial supply lines are disrupted and access to food is unreliable. Food kits typically comprise wheat flour, pasta, oats, canned beans or meat, sunflower oil, sugar and salt.
WFP buys approximately 82 percent of this food inside Ukraine and works with local bakeries to deliver bread. WFP also provides food commodities to institutions such as hospitals, care centres, displacement centres and orphanages, to support the provision of hot meals.
OHCHR: The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been present in the country since 2014, when the conflict began and throughout Russia’s current full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. UN Human Rights has documented more than 50,000 civilians killed and injured, including more than 3,000 children, since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In 2025, WHO reached 1.9 million people across Ukraine through service delivery, medical supplies, referrals and capacity-building, with a strong focus on frontline and hard-to-reach locations.
The poverty rate has increased for households with children, UNICEF says, providing school and health facility support and district heating upgrades.
Between January and September, the UN and its partners reached more than 4.2 million people – over two thirds of the target for 2025.