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Now in its fifth year, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues to have profound humanitarian consequences, inflicting grave harm on civilians, displacing millions of people, and placing sustained pressure on essential services and infrastructure. Across Ukraine, civilians face ongoing risks from missile and drone attacks, damage to homes and infrastructure, interruptions to electricity, heating, water, and medical care, and limited access to safe and adequate housing. Displacement remains a significant concern, with internally displaced people and refugees facing challenges related to shelter, livelihoods, access to services, and the ability to return safely and sustainably to their homes. The elderly, children, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups face heightened barriers to assistance and protection.
This update outlines the evolving displacement situation and broader impacts of the war on civilians, highlighting key humanitarian needs, protection concerns, and the factors shaping conditions for affected populations across Ukraine.
CIVILIAN HARM
In recent months, civilian harm in Ukraine has reached some of its highest levels since the start of the war in February 2022. The number of civilians killed and injured in Ukraine in the first eight months of 2026 exceeded the total for all of 2025, with a particularly sharp escalation in fatalities and injuries over the summer months. In July and August 2026, 820 civilians were killed and 5,024 injured in Ukraine.
The start of October 2026 brought a renewed wave of attacks, killing over 100 civilians and injuring 429 in one week, including children. An October 9 warning from the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations stated that Russia’s attacks reached “a new horrifying level.” Commenting on the October attacks, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated that “the scale and manner of these attacks—killing and injuring people on buses, at their homes, and work in different areas of the country—is reprehensible,” and noted that “deliberate attacks on civilians could amount to war crimes.”
Children across Ukraine have also suffered the devastating consequences of the war. In the 2026 Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the United Nations verified that 753 children had been killed and maimed in Ukraine from January to December 2025. Other grave violations against children included 199 attacks on hospitals and 442 attacks on schools last year. In September 2026, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) noted that over 4,200 educational institutions had been damaged or destroyed since the start of the war. The agency underscored, “Children whose hope of simply going to school continues to be disrupted by war causing a seemingly never-ending cycle of trauma.”
Beyond the direct toll on children and the destruction of essential institutions, attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have further compounded the humanitarian crisis, threatening the basic conditions necessary for civilian survival. The systematic targeting of Ukraine’s energy facilities has caused widespread harm to civilians. Damage and destruction of facilities that generate, transmit, and distribute energy across Ukraine have left civilians without power, heating, and water supply.
Such attacks turn winter into a weapon, as winter months can bring temperatures in Ukraine far below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus four degrees Fahrenheit). The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that attacks on energy infrastructure during the winter of 2025-2026 caused indoor temperatures to fall far below what the World Health Organization considers safe, and cut water supply, disrupted healthcare, closed schools, and forced people from their homes. As the country braces for winter 2026-2027, commission chair Erik Møse warned, “Continued attacks on energy infrastructure are making living conditions increasingly unbearable for civilians, and we are concerned that the coming winter will be more difficult to endure.” Despite such warnings, bombardment has continued. On October 12, 2026, Russia reportedly struck at least six Ukrainian energy facilities, followed by an October 14 aerial attack on energy infrastructure that left at least 600,000 people in Ukraine without power.
DISPLACEMENT
As of August 2026, more than 3.4 million people were internally displaced in Ukraine. Meanwhile, as of June 2026, more than 5.6 million refugees from Ukraine sought safety abroad, including over 5.1 million in Europe. Displaced children are particularly vulnerable, as displacement can disrupt their access to education, healthcare, and other essential services, and cause separation from family members and support networks.
Exposure to ongoing hostilities, repeated or protracted displacement, and the loss of stable living environments can also heighten the risk of psychological distress, exploitation, and other protection concerns. Approximately 2,589,900 children—more than a third of the country’s children—remain displaced both within and outside of Ukraine.
For many displaced people, returning home remains difficult or unsafe. Ongoing hostilities, damaged or destroyed housing, disrupted essential services, and limited livelihood opportunities continue to impede safe and sustainable return. Many face prolonged displacement and uncertainty about their future. As the war continues, providing adequate support to displaced populations and ensuring that return is safe and voluntary remain significant humanitarian and protection challenges.
In the United States, over 100,000 Ukrainians hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which provides eligible individuals with employment authorization and protection from deportation for a designated period. TPS is granted to individuals whose home countries are experiencing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary temporary conditions that make safe return impossible. TPS does not offer a pathway to adjust to legal permanent residency or obtain U.S. citizenship.
Ukraine’s TPS designation is scheduled to expire on October 19, 2026. As this deadline approaches, affected individuals face uncertainty about their ability to remain and work lawfully in the United States, as well as the prospect of returning to a country where ongoing hostilities, civilian casualties, and damage to critical infrastructure continue to raise serious safety and humanitarian concerns. A decision from the Department of Homeland Security to terminate TPS would mark a significant change in the protections available to eligible Ukrainians who sought safety in the United States.
On September 23, bipartisan legislation was introduced in Congress to extend TPS for Ukraine through June 2029. The days and weeks ahead will therefore be critical in determining the future of TPS protections for Ukrainians and the options available to those who have sought refuge in the United States.
