ICRC Update December 2025: our response in Ukraine

Four years into the international armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, civilians on both sides of the frontline continue to face profound humanitarian needs. Daily life remains shaped by insecurity, disrupted essential services, and the long-term consequences of protracted hostilities.

Across Ukraine, damage to electricity, water, heating, and health-care systems forces families to make difficult and sometimes dangerous choices when seeking medical care, collecting water, or moving between neighborhoods. Mines and explosive remnants of war further restrict safe movement and hinder recovery. Since the start of the conflict, the ICRC has helped sustain essential services, provided assistance and cash support to displaced and vulnerable households, strengthened local mine-risk capacities, facilitated safe civilian crossings, and worked to clarify the fate of missing people in line with its humanitarian mandate.

In 2025, the ICRC and its partners repaired critical infrastructure, supported hospitals, assisted displaced families, and continued efforts to trace missing relatives. In first half a year alone, 735,000 people gained improved access to water, 557 tons of construction materials were delivered for home repairs, more than 107,000 medical consultations were provided, and over 57,000 people received food, household items, hygiene supplies, or winter assistance.

In 2025, the ICRC supported 29 primary care centers and 87 hospitals with essential medicines and equipment near the front lines in Ukraine. Our physical rehabilitation program in Kharkiv, launched in 2023, is now fully operational providing not only medical recovery, but also career training and social reintegration for individuals who lost limbs due to the war. The newly constructed rehabilitation wing at Kharkiv’s University Hospital is now complete, offering advanced prosthetic services to those in greatest need. The ICRC remains the only organization providing physical rehabilitation for people with major lower limb amputations in eastern Ukraine.

This work is only possible because of voluntary contributions. Flexible funding allows the ICRC to respond rapidly where needs are greatest—supporting trauma care, essential services, and families seeking safety or information across the region. Thank you for your continued support, which helps protect and assist people living through unimaginable hardship.