Attacks continue to force displacement from frontline areas in Ukraine
UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Humanitarian needs soar as more people are evacuated or flee relentless Russian attacks in frontline regions. Supporting them remains a top priority for UNHCR and its local NGO partners.
By Elisabeth Haslund and Chadi Ouanes
26 August 2025
Even with two small children and pregnant with her third, 20-year-old Viktoriia struggled to make the difficult decision to flee the hostilities and leave her home in the Dnipropetrovsk region in eastern Ukraine. She kept postponing the moment.
"But then a heavy attack began with about 20 strong explosions close by. That's when I realized that it was better to leave immediately. My son was in distress. He jumped at every loud sound, even when something fell in the kitchen. That's how bad it got," recalled Viktoriia, whose husband is in the army.
Viktoriia and her children are among tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have been displaced in recent months by Russia's continued attacks along the more than 1,000-kilometre frontline that runs from north to south Ukraine through the eastern part of the country.
Since May 2024, when the Russian Federation launched a new ground offensive on the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities have announced waves of mandatory evacuations in several regions, most recently in Dnipropetrovsk, where the frontline is now only a few kilometres away. This year alone, more than 188,000 people are estimated to have fled to safer areas, adding to the millions already displaced inside Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in 2022 and the start of the war in the east in 2014.
Some have been evacuated through government-organized transportation or with the help of NGOs and volunteers, while others have fled on their own. Since January 2025, an estimated 24,000 evacuated people have passed through six transit centres currently operational in four regions supported by local authorities and humanitarian organizations, including UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its Ukrainian NGO partners. People receive immediate assistance, including temporary shelter, psychosocial and legal support, and information about their options for more sustainable accommodation.
Many prefer to remain as close to their homes as possible. More than half of the people who were internally displaced in the last year have remained within the same region, according to recent figures from IOM.
This was also the case for Viktoriia, who sought safety in Dnipro city, the region's administrative centre, as "it's closer to home". The family was first hosted in a shelter for displaced people, where they were given some essential items after fleeing - like many evacuees - with few belongings. Here, Viktoriia also got in touch with UNHCR's partner Proliska, who referred her to vital maternity care and supported her application for state social benefits to help her provide for her children.
Now staying in a small rented apartment, Viktoriia still faces hardship and challenges beyond the physical threats of the war. She lacks basic items like a refrigerator, and with money scarce, it's difficult to make ends meet. However, she is determined to stay strong, not least for her children.
"If I was constantly grieving and crying, what would happen to them? They feel everything. And my unborn baby, he feels my emotions too," Viktoriia explained. "Of course, sometimes it gets so hard that I just want to give up. But then what about my kids?"
One of the main challenges displaced people face is finding affordable and adequate housing. Moreover, those with specific vulnerabilities, such as older people and those with reduced mobility or a disability - some of whom are currently living in institutions - need specialized support to ensure their evacuation and identify facilities that can provide accommodation with the necessary care.
Many of those who fled their homes continue to live with the constant sounds of drones, explosions and shelling. With relentless and, in recent months, intensified large-scale aerial attacks on urban centres, displaced people still face the risks of attacks in the places they have sought safety - leaving them in a state of prolonged stress and hardship.
This was the reality for 37-year old Nadiia and her two daughters. Already in 2022, the family fled their home village close to the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeast Ukraine to seek safety in Zaporizhzhia city. This year, the city has faced some of the largest attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion. In May 2025, just as they were getting ready for bed, Nadiia and her girls once again found themselves in the centre of the hostilities as their neighbourhood was hit by another aerial attack.
"At first, I thought the buzzing drones would just pass. Then the first explosion came," Nadiia recalled.
There was no time to reach the nearest shelter, so Nadiia held her daughters while they sheltered in the hallway, the safest place in their home. "We were terrified. I have a talisman I hold when I'm scared. I kept saying a prayer over and over, but the explosions just continued."
Nadiia and her daughters made it through the night without physical injury, but their apartment had suffered damage. She received emergency shelter materials from UNHCR's partner Proliska to cover her broken windows - one of the forms of assistance UNHCR provides in the emergency response following attacks, which also includes psychosocial and legal support and enrolment for emergency cash to allow people to cover their most urgent needs.
Across Ukraine, 12.7 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance - the vast majority in frontline areas, as well as more than 2.8 million people who are internally displaced across the country. However, UNHCR's planned response to meet the enormous needs inside Ukraine is currently only 41 per cent funded with just a third of the year remaining.
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