The year 2025 became the deadliest for Ukraine’s civilian population since the start of the full-scale invasion and since 2014 in general, and evacuations of vulnerable groups have significantly increased, especially from frontline areas of the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions.

This was stated in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency by UNHCR Representative in Ukraine Bernadette Castel-Hollingsworth, who emphasized her serious concern over these trends.

"Our colleagues from the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine assessed and reported that in 2025, more civilian deaths and injuries were recorded—more victims—than in any other year since the start of the full-scale invasion and since the start of the war in 2014 in general," she noted.

The UNHCR Representative emphasized that the increase in evacuations amid massive attacks on energy infrastructure is particularly alarming.

"Over the last two to three months, there have been many attacks on energy infrastructure. I am very concerned about humanitarian needs in general and evacuations, which seem to be truly increasing. Evacuations mean more displacement, again, of vulnerable population groups. For example, this morning I heard from my colleagues in Kharkiv that among the recent evacuees, the majority are elderly people, people with disabilities, and children leaving frontline communities—mainly from the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions. This is very alarming," Castel-Hollingsworth said. 

She assessed the overall humanitarian situation as deteriorating.

"In my opinion, the situation is worsening. It is worsening because the attacks are aimed at Ukraine in general, at the people themselves, and at what they need to survive: critical infrastructure, transport, energy, housing," the UNHCR representative explained.

At the same time, she noted positive signals from the Ukrainian authorities, who are actively working on recovery and reconstruction.

"At the same time, as I communicate a lot with the authorities, I see that there is a real desire to start recovery efforts. This, I think, is very important. And in 2026, we will scale up our work on solutions," she added.

Castel-Hollingsworth specifically highlighted the resilience of Ukrainians but emphasized the exhausting impact of the war and the particularly severe winter.

"I believe that people in Ukraine are very determined. You are not only resilient but also unbreakable. However, continuous attacks take their toll, especially considering the winter we have just endured. I recently had a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he said it was the coldest winter since 1999—that is, in 26 years. I see that it was very difficult, and it affected everyone in the country. My own colleagues had to leave their homes and live in hotels; others went to summer houses. Once I even gave the keys to my apartment to a neighbor I barely know when I was leaving for a week because their water pipe burst and there was a lot of water in the apartment. This affects everyone, and especially, of course, those who are already displaced and those who need more help in daily life than you or I—the elderly, especially those living in high-rise buildings," she said.

The UNHCR Representative emphasized that overall, more than 10.8 million people in Ukraine still need humanitarian assistance.

Regarding the geography of evacuations, she reported that the situation is particularly acute in several regions.

"The authorities of the Donetsk region reported that 115,000 people left the Donetsk region in 2025. In 2025, we, as UNHCR, supported transit centers through which 90,000 people passed. This is more than before. We see that since the beginning of this year, the number of people passing through transit centers in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions has increased. The authorities of the Zaporizhia region opened a transit center in November. If there were no need, they would not have done this," the UNHCR Representative emphasized.

The full text of the interview will be published on the Interfax-Ukraine agency website.