February 24, 2025, marks three years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has left more than 42,000 people dead or wounded. Humanitarian needs remain critical across the country, as lives and communities are devastated by attacks on civilian infrastructure. The civilian population continues to be at risk from relentless Russian attacks, particularly on the eastern and southern frontlines.
In 2025, 12.7 million people inside Ukraine are in need of humanitarian assistance, while 6.9 million Ukrainians remain refugees abroad. Despite ongoing international deliberations on peace talks, the situation in Ukraine remains extremely volatile, with daily threats of shelling and air strikes continuing to put lives at risk.
“This day, three years ago, Ukrainian people woke up to the horrific sounds of war – a day that plunged an entire nation into suffering beyond words. The full-scale invasion by the armed forces of the Russian Federation has turned the lives of millions of Ukrainians into a never-ending nightmare,” the Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, said in a statement today.
“However, this nightmare for Ukrainians didn’t begin three years ago, but in 2014 when the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine were violated. The illegal annexation by the Russian Federation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and protracted hostilities in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk caused the first wave of widespread suffering and displacement.”
Schmale said that for 11 years, Ukrainian citizens have been killed and injured and have lost their homes and livelihoods to the war, noting that many children born since 2014 have “never experienced peace in their home country.”
Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by invading the country on multiple fronts on February 24, 2022. To this day, the people of Ukraine continue to be killed, wounded, and deeply traumatized by the violence. The civilian infrastructure on which they depend continues to be destroyed or damaged.
According to UN-verified data, some 780 health facilities and more than 1,600 schools have been damaged or destroyed in the course of the war.
The armed conflict has created the largest displacement crisis in Europe since World War II, with more than 10.6 million people still displaced. As of February 2025, some 6.9 million people have been forced to flee abroad, mainly to the Russian Federation, Poland and Germany, and 3.7 million people continue to be internally displaced.
This means that nearly a quarter of Ukraine's pre-war population has been forced to flee their homes.
“With missiles and drones reaching Western borders, nowhere in Ukraine is safe. Millions of people who fled the country or were displaced internally are unable to return as their native cities and villages have been destroyed, and the surrounding land is densely strewn with mines and other explosive devices,” Schmale said.
Since February 2022, the UN has recorded more than 42,000 civilian casualties across Ukraine - including 2,538 children - with more than 12,654 people killed and more than 29,392 injured, the majority as a result of shelling, artillery and rocket attacks. As in many humanitarian crises around the world, women and children continue to be disproportionately affected by the conflict.
As these are UN-verified figures, the actual numbers are likely to be much higher. According to human rights monitors, many reports, particularly from certain locations - such as Mariupol and Lysychansk - and from the immediate aftermath of February 24 three years ago, are still being verified due to the large number of reports, or could not be verified due to lack of access to the relevant areas.
In 2024, Ukraine experienced a sharp increase in airstrikes, artillery attacks, and ground fighting along frontline communities, causing widespread devastation and civilian losses. There has been a 30 percent increase in civilian casualties compared to 2023, and the humanitarian situation has worsened, especially in frontline areas.
More than one-third of the people in Ukraine are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In 2025, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) aims to reach one-sixth of people in need, 6 million people who are in severe need. The United Nations is appealing for US$3.83 billion to fund the ongoing humanitarian response inside the country and for the refugee crisis.
The lion's share of the twin humanitarian and refugee response plans for 2025 - $2.63 billion - will be used to support those inside Ukraine in need of humanitarian assistance. Humanitarian agencies in the country plan to help millions of people with food, health care, shelter, cash assistance, emergency education, protection and other essential services.
Special attention will be given to the most vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly and people with disabilities, many of whom face isolation and barriers to accessing assistance.
A smaller amount - $690 million - will provide assistance and protection over the next year to more than 2 million Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in 11 Eastern European host countries bordering Ukraine.
As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, an estimated five million Ukrainians face food insecurity, with the greatest needs concentrated in areas close to the front lines. Winter makes everything more dangerous, with attacks on energy infrastructure threatening to leave hospitals and homes without power and heat during the coldest months of the year.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has documented more than 2254 attacks on health care in Ukraine since the start of full-scale war in the country three years ago. In 2025, attacks on health care have not stopped and continue to occur almost daily.
WHO said Monday that 42 attacks have already been recorded in 2025. This year, an estimated 9.2 million people in Ukraine will need some form of health assistance from aid agencies. Three years of relentless conflict have left Ukrainians traumatized and facing an uncertain future.
Humanitarians warn that the "hidden crisis" - the mental health crisis - will reverberate for generations. According to the UN, some 63 percent of households have reported mental health problems, while an estimated 1.5 million children are at risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The war has also dealt a severe blow to the Ukrainian economy. Many Ukrainian businesses have closed or been destroyed. Since 2022, 3.5 million jobs have been lost in Ukraine. Heavy Russian airstrikes have severely damaged the national energy system, as well as hundreds of educational and health facilities.
Violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the course of the ongoing armed attack are widespread.
“At a time when the US President is seeking to re-write the history of the last decade, and particularly of the last three years, the third anniversary of the Russian aggression is a stark reminder of how much the people of Ukraine have endured and lost; of the devastation that Russia has waged against Ukraine,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary General, in a statement released on Monday.
“Any negotiations over the future of the people of Ukraine must prioritize justice for all crimes under international law committed since Russia’s military intervention in 2014, accountability for those responsible, and reparations for victims of Russia’s aggression.”
Amnesty International has documented widespread violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, including acts that amount to war crimes and likely crimes against humanity.
Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine constitutes a crime of aggression under international law.
Amnesty said the aggressor's strategy and tactics, including the continued use of indiscriminate weapons and the deliberate targeting of civilians, have caused widespread human suffering and severely affected the most vulnerable people in Ukraine, including children and the elderly.
Since March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued several arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Russian officials. In June 2023, UN Secretary-General AntĂłnio Guterres added Russia to a blacklist of perpetrators of grave violations against children, citing Moscow's actions in Ukraine, including the killing and maiming of children and attacks on schools.
Callamard said that past suffering, including deadly Russian airstrikes on civilians and the forcible transfer of children to Russia, must not be forgotten or left unaddressed.
“Those most impacted by Russia’s war of aggression must have their voices heard and their needs met, and any negotiated outcome that does not account for this will fail in the long-term,” she said.
Further information
Full text: Statement by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, on the third-year mark of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, United Nations in Ukraine, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, published February 24, 2025
https://ukraine.un.org/en/289756-statement-un-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-ukraine-matthias-schmale-third-year-mark
Full text: Ukraine/Russia: Three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, justice for victims must be a global priority, Amnesty International, press release, published February 24, 2025
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/ukraine-russia-three-years-since-russias-full-scale-invasion-justice-for-victims-must-be-a-global-priority/