Attachments
OPERATIONAL CONTEXT & HIGHLIGHTS:
• UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi visited Ukraine from 13-16 January 2025 for the sixth time since February 2022, reaffirming UNHCR’s strong solidarity with the people of Ukraine and calling for sustained international support.
• On 16 January, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi jointly launched, with the Government of Ukraine, the 2025 humanitarian and refugee response plans from Kyiv. The plans appeal for US$3.32 billion to support 8.2 million people affected by the crisis within Ukraine and across borders.
• Largescale aerial attacks continued across Ukraine in January and early February, causing civilian casualties and damage to homes and civilian infrastructure. An attack on Zaporizhzhia on 8 January caused the highest number of civilian casualties (killed and injured) in a single incident in almost two years, according to the UN HRMMU. At least 139 civilians were killed and 738 injured in Ukraine in January 2025, a 39% increase from December 2024. Overall, the UN HRMMU reports that the number of killed and injured civilians in 2024 increased by 30% compared with 2023.
• Additional mandatory evacuations were announced from areas of Donetska oblast as hostilities intensified. Civilians in frontline communities face increasingly harsh living conditions due to constant shelling and limited access to essential services. Many evacuees are extremely vulnerable, with a significant number of older and disabled people among those from areas under mandatory evacuation orders.
• UNHCR and partners continue efforts to deliver assistance to help people stay safe and warm as part of UNHCR’s 2024-2025 winter response plan and the broader inter-agency response.
• UNHCR provides immediate protection and assistance to people living in waraffected areas while supporting the early recovery and durable solutions for displaced persons, returnees, and war-affected people remaining in their homes.