The Ukraine crisis, explained: 5 Things you need to know in 2026

This month, the conflict in Ukraine will enter its fifth year amid increasing hostilities. And while the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 10.8 million people will require humanitarian assistance this year — a smaller figure compared to 2025 — that also represents an increase in need, as budget cuts and funding shortfalls have caused OCHA to narrow its scope of need and its emergency plans accordingly.

Feeling these factors most acutely, however, are millions of Ukrainians — many of whom are within a short distance from the frontlines and living through not only regular attacks, but also the coldest winter in more than a decade. Here’s what you need to know.

As the second-largest country in Europe, Ukraine quickly became one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises owing to its size and population. In the last four years, that need has intensified. This year, OCHA estimates that 10.8 million Ukrainians (out of a total population of 34.2 million) will require some form of humanitarian aid. 

The greatest needs are in the eastern regions, or oblasts, along the frontlines — including Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, Sumy, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia. Nearly half of all Ukrainians requiring assistance — some 4.1 million — live within 50 km of the frontline, and face the highest needs. They’re also the most limited in terms of getting those needs met amid regular air raids and unexploded landmines and other dangerous ordnance. 

Intensified attacks in 2025 led to new waves of damage and displacement in these areas. Health facilities are understaffed and underresourced. The elderly and disabled make up a large number of those who remain close to the frontlines, and face isolation while relying on humanitarian support for basic needs. People fleeing the frontlines are in greatest need of protection, shelter, and access to clean water and sanitation services. 

While the eastern oblasts are the hardest hit, Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis is felt across the entire country — especially in terms of housing and energy. Attacks on energy infrastructure have left the entire country facing regular blackouts, which affects both heating and hot water. 

The situation became even more complicated this winter, the worst that Ukraine has faced in more than a decade. Unscheduled power outages have become common in eastern cities like Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa — but also the capital of Kyiv — amid targeted attacks on power sources that in some cases have left people without power for weeks amid temperatures that have fallen to minus 26 degrees Celsius.

These power disruptions are more than a nuisance. People with mobility issues who live in high-rise apartments are unable to leave their homes, without heat or electricity, as the UN reports. Families have been worried about keeping healthy without essential services, especially for children, the elderly, and people with existing health conditions. These power outages also have a major impact on people in collective living sites.

Affordability is another issue that has cut across the country. Four years of conflict have weakened local markets and employment opportunities, with roughly 33% of Ukrainian families reporting that their incomes are insufficient to cover basic needs like rent, utilities, healthcare, and food. 

Last year, the International Organisation for Migration reported that the median household income per capita was 29% lower than it was at the beginning of 2022. At the same time, Ukrainians have seen a cumulative inflation rate of just under 38%. This means a major loss in purchasing power for Ukrainians between sinking incomes and rising prices. 

The financial crisis has led many families to take out high-interest loans, reduce meal portions and quality, burn through their savings accounts, and skip doctor’s appointments or medications in order to make ends meet.

Roughly 3.7 million Ukrainians (more than 10% of the country’s population) are internally displaced due to the conflict — some multiple times over. Of these 3.7 million, 73% have been displaced for more than two years, but the intensification of hostilities has led to more movement. 

Last year alone, 130,000 people were “officially” evacuated with support from the Ukrainian government or humanitarian organisations, and many more fleeing on their own. Many are processed through crowded transit centers, and approximately 71,000 Ukrainians are living in overcrowded collective centers.  These spaces provide shelter — especially in areas where private housing is hard to find or afford — but the standard of living has not been able to keep up with capacity.

Even those not living in centres face mounting risks with limited employment opportunities, no financial safety nets, and mounting psychological stress. Many return prematurely to unsafe areas because they have no other choice; some refuse to leave their homes near the frontlines because of the difficulties living in displacement. 

The humanitarian needs and displacement driven by the crisis in Ukraine are all in a larger context of societal and psychological upheaval for families. Approximately 25% of Ukrainian children are not attending in-person classes this academic year. Part of this is due to school closures, but part of it is also that parents are afraid to be separated from their children in case anything happens. 

This trauma extends across generations. Elderly Ukrainians, for example, have lived through several crises since the end of World War II, and are struggling to cope with the collective impact of history. In communities, cohesion has been tested as people who either arrive from frontline areas or who return home from displacement struggle to integrate or reintegrate into communities scarred by hostilities. 

Roughly 63% of Ukrainian families have reported at least one form of mental health challenge due to the conflict, including an estimated 1.5 million children at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. 

Concern has been responding to the crisis in Ukraine since the initial weeks, working collectively with our Alliance2015 partners to deliver assistance via the Joint Emergency Response in Ukraine (JERU). 

Through the strategic pooling of resources, JERU was able to support over 114,000 people last year with cash transfers, food and hygiene kits, and winterisation support for frontline communities. In tandem with this, we’ve also expanded our focus to work on long-term economic recovery through the introduction of livelihoods programmes in both cities and rural areas. 

These programmes work on several levels, helping families to rebuild and safeguard their livelihoods while also increasing social and economic inclusion and strengthening community resilience.