Holding onto Humanity: Ukraine Enters the Fifth Year of Full-Scale War

Matthias Schmale, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, has repeatedly stressed that the scale of humanitarian needs remains immense — as the frontline shifts and hostilities persist without pause.  

Over 10 million people need humanitarian assistance. More than 10 million remain displaced: 3.7 million people inside the country and nearly 6 million abroad. 

In 2025, was  the deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since 2022. In 2026, homes, hospitals, schools and energy infrastructure continue to be destroyed, month after month. 

Beyond the numbers are lives surviving between uncertainty and endurance. 

A Country Living Under Repeated Shocks

Across front-line regions and major cities alike, attacks continue to impact civilians and damage civilian infrastructure. Apartment blocks stand exposed to the cold. Hospitals operate on generators. Schools adapt to sirens and shattered windows. Even transit and collective sites have come under attack, forcing displaced families to move again.

No community feels entirely safe.

Repeated strikes on energy infrastructure have left neighbourhoods without electricity, heating or water. During the coldest winter days, temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius, deepening what humanitarians describe as an emergency within an emergency.

Four Priorities of Humanitarian Response in 2026  

The 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is built around four strategic priorities, focusing on people most at risk: those near the front line, newly displaced or evacuated, people affected by strikes, and severely vulnerable groups at risk of being left behind. 

As the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale said, “At its core, this remains a protection crisis. Older people who cannot easily move, people with disabilities, single parents, vulnerable children and adolescents, people with chronic illnesses and those already displaced are among the first to feel every shock and the last to recover. Behind every statistic there are individuals and families, weighing the daunting decision of whether to stay or to leave everything behind for the unknown.” 

Across front-line areas in southern and eastern Ukraine, many older people choose to remain despite daily shelling. Among them is 80-year-old Olena, whose home was damaged and whose family has suffered profound loss.

“This is my home, this is my land, how can I leave?” she says.

She now receives bread, winter clothing and essential supplies provided by humanitarian organizations. “We survive thanks to this support,” she adds.

When War Forces Civilians to Flee 

After four years of full-scale war, displacement remains one of the most profound consequences.  

Some 3.7 million people are displaced within Ukraine. Nearly 6 million remain abroad. 

Many have moved multiple times. Humanitarian support people willing to evacuate but cannot replace what has been lost. 

In towns near the front line, humanitarian workers support people who have fled their homes and arrived at government-established transit centres. Here, displaced families can stay for several days, catching their breath and deciding what comes next. 

Aid workers register vulnerable people for cash assistance, distribute food and hygiene kits, and provide medical, legal and psychological support. 

From these centres, some move on to stay with relatives in safer parts of Ukraine. Others are offered accommodation in collective sites. This marks the beginning of a new journey, as people start rebuilding their lives—often far from the communities they left behind.  

Yet, the memories of their loss still haunt them, as the war’s toll on people’s mental health grows. Some wounds will take years to heal, and some will leave scars forever. Aid workers are also scaling up their protection services, including psychological support, to help people find the strength to go on. 

Helping the Most Vulnerable Across the Country 

As the war has uprooted entire communities, both in front-line regions and much further from the areas of active fighting, the most vulnerable people—including older people and people with limited mobility—are often left isolated and in need of immediate assistance across the country. 

With support from the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund, aid partners are helping ensure that everyone receives the assistance they need, complementing national efforts and reaching the most vulnerable groups.

Humanity Under Strain 

The longer the war continues, the heavier and more diverse its toll becomes. Communities show remarkable courage, but fatigue and exhaustion are visible. 

As the Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, has underscored, fifth year into the full-scale war, Ukraine is not defined only by destruction. It is defined by people — volunteers delivering hot meals in freezing temperatures, engineers restoring heat under shelling, social workers supporting displaced families, parents protecting children amid the sound of sirens. 

Humanitarian partners remain on the ground, working alongside local authorities and communities. 

But needs remain immense. 

In a world facing multiple crises and limited resources, solidarity is being tested. 

Yet, to protect humanity, we need solidarity to continue.