Attacks have widened far beyond the front line, driving displacement, loss and chronic distress, as over 90% of people surveyed fear missile and drone strikes.
Financial assistance and access to health services and medicines are the two biggest unmet needs in Ukraine as winter approaches, yet aid shrinks.
The IRC calls on donors to keep investing in Ukraine despite competing priorities.
Kyiv, Ukraine, October 15, 2026 — Ukraine is heading into winter following the deadliest months since the full-scale war began, as attacks on civilian infrastructure and populated areas widen and humanitarian assistance shrinks against growing needs. New data from the International Rescue Committee (IRC) shows how crises in Ukraine are compounding, with each unmet need and risk fueling the next.
Humanitarian assistance shrunk in every region monitored by the IRC, and some areas have received no aid for more than two years. Financial assistance and access to health services and medicines are the two most urgent needs. Yet financial distress is no longer only a question of purchasing power—it is pushing people to abandon their homes, deepening anxiety and eroding their ability to cope.
“As winter approaches, people in Ukraine face cold, illness, fear and lost income, and each makes the others worse,” said Alain Homsy, IRC country director in Ukraine. “People are increasingly exhausted and unable to cope with daily life under missile and drone strikes.”
The data shows that intensified attacks are the trigger of compounded crises, generating displacement, loss and chronic distress. Regardless of distance from the front line, most people surveyed fear missiles and drone strikes. In some regions, as many as 90% of people are in urgent need of financial aid, and up to 60% need health services and medicines. 70% of internally displaced families would like to return home but cannot because of the security situation.
With repeated rounds of talks failing to deliver a ceasefire, external support declining and the response shrinking, the war’s fatigue is deepening. The IRC calls on donors to maintain investment in Ukraine despite competing crises, and to ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Ukraine needs a complete pause in fighting to prevent further loss of life. Even then, the needs created by the war will outlast the conflict, and people will need support to begin rebuilding what has been lost.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Ukraine has been operational since February 2022, delivering emergency aid, health care, and protection services to millions affected by the escalation of the war.
Note to editors:
This data draws on protection monitoring conducted by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) between January and June 2026, using a mixed-methods approach that combines 1,828 household surveys, 133 key informant interviews and direct observation, along with a review of secondary data. The analysis follows the Protection Analytical Framework, which structures each risk by threat, drivers, effects, most-affected groups and existing capacities. Monitoring took place in five oblasts where the IRC operates—Mykolaivska, Sumska, Kharkivska, Zaporizka and Dnipropetrovska—with fewer interviews conducted in Odeska, Khersonska and Donetska.
