Ukraine four years on – the humanitarian need is greater than ever

Four years on from the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine armed conflict, life for many people is the hardest it has ever been, with the conflict continuing to cause immense human suffering and significant humanitarian needs.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, injured, or remain missing. Around 5.89 million Ukrainians remain living abroad after fleeing the country and 3.8 million people remain displaced within Ukraine, where damage to critical infrastructure has disrupted the provision of basic services.

Across Ukraine, millions have had to endure the winter months without reliable access to heating and power. The combination of relentless attacks, rolling blackouts, freezing temperatures and deepening economic hardships has left entire communities in the dark and cold.

The energy crisis is a humanitarian crisis

The energy crisis is impacting every part of daily life, with health and mental health needs soaring. During blackouts people cannot cook, heat their homes, access healthcare or even call for help. This is life threatening for older people, people with disabilities, and those with chronic illness.

Without heating, people are at high risk of hypothermia, frostbite, and respiratory illnesses, while darkness, isolation and uncertainty are taking a toll on their mental health. Access to specialised mental health and psychosocial support remains limited.

The Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Pierre Krähenbühl, recently visited Ukraine, where he witnessed first-hand the suffering inflicted on people every day by the ongoing conflict, particularly during the harsh winter the country is currently experiencing.

“The international armed conflict has affected millions of Ukrainians in dramatic ways over the last four years. Almost every family has endured the death of a loved one, injury, displacement or the extreme anxiety of having no news about a captured or missing relative. There is nothing abstract about the pain and trauma you witness during a visit like this. The stories and images are harrowing.”

Red Cross Red Crescent movement response

The Ukrainian Red Cross is supporting warming centres around the clock, providing people with a safe place to warm up and receive support during difficult conditions.

The Ukrainian Red Cross, supported by wider the Red Cross Red Crescent movement, continues to provide essential relief including health and social services, mental health and psychosocial support, home repairs and livelihood support amid insecurity, blackouts and fierce cold.

Across the country, Red Cross heating tents are a lifeline for people who no longer have electricity at home. Here they can stay warm, get something hot to eat and drink, refill their water bottles, and charge phones. Red Cross teams also provide aid points with food parcels, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses and bed linen to support the most vulnerable.

From January to December 2025:

• 1,914,008 people gained improved access to water, wastewater disposal, heating, and electricity
• 33,860 people received cash assistance to help them through winter
• 69 hospitals and 29 Primary Health-Care Centres received regular or emergency support through donations of medical equipment, medicines, and consumables to treat war-injured patients and those with chronic diseases, close to the frontline
• Almost 200,000 people received food parcels, hygiene supplies and other essential household items.

New Zealand Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal

New Zealand Red Cross is one of 60 National Societies responding to the needs of people impacted by the conflict. As part of the movement, we launched our Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal in 2022.

Thanks to the generous support of New Zealanders, as of February 2026 we have raised close to NZD $5.3 million. This has enabled us to send funds to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who are on the ground providing support to those in need, send our specialist international delegates to the region, and assist displaced Ukrainians in New Zealand who have escaped the conflict and are rebuilding their lives.

The needs remain immense. Ongoing humanitarian support is critical.

New Zealand Red Cross is continuing to raise funds for those affected by this humanitarian crisis. Please support those in urgent need, by donating now to our Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.

Donations will be used to help those affected by the impacts of the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine and surrounding countries, as well as those affected in New Zealand.

More information

ICRC press release  

Ukraine: ICRC Director-General - Millions in Ukraine face intolerable suffering and growing needs amid ongoing conflict

IFRC press release  

As conflict enters fifth year, humanitarian needs in Ukraine intensify amid deepening energy crisis and funding shortfall

New Zealand Red Cross’ International delegate deployments

• International delegate returns from Ukraine
• Cash assistance provides vital, dignified support for Ukrainians

Have you lost contact with loved ones in Ukraine?

Our Restoring Family Links team is on standby to receive enquiries from people living in Aotearoa New Zealand who have lost contact with loved ones due to the disaster.

• Find missing family overseas 

Lead image: A Ukrainian Red Cross Society volunteer from Kyiv, in front of an apartment building that was attacked last summer.