As Ukraineenters the fifthyear offull-scalewar,its people have endured the highest number of attacks on their healthcare in 2025--increasing bynearly 20%compared to 2024.
Since the beginning of thefull-scalewaron 24 February 2022, WHO has documentedat least2881 attacks on healthcare in Ukraine,affectinghealth workers, facilities, ambulances, and medical warehouses.
Health services are under intense pressure in two fronts:direct attacks on healthcare, and the cascading effects of strikes on civilian infrastructure, including thermal power plants thatunderpinthe country'spower grid.These have left deep gaps in people's health.Accordingtoa WHOassessment conducted in December 2025, 59% of people in frontline areasreportedtheir healthaspoor orvery poor, compared to 47% in non-frontline areas.
"After four years of war, health needs are increasing, but many people are unable to get the care they need, in part because hospitals and clinics are routinely attacked," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "WHO is working alongside Ukraine's dedicated health workers to keep hospitals supplied with the means to stay warm, and the medicines people rely on the most.Ultimately, the best medicine is peace.?
In 2025, WHO's support reached1.9 million peopleacross Ukraine through service delivery, medical supplies,referralsand capacity-building, with a strong focus on frontline and hard-to-reach locations.
"Four years of war has created a serious health crisis in Ukraine," said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. "Mental health needs are staggering:72% of people surveyed experienced anxiety or depression in the past year, yet only one in five soughthelp. Cardiovascular disease is surging, with one in four Ukrainians experiencing dangerously high blood pressure. And8 out of 10people report theycan?taccess the medicines they need. This is not abstract?it'sa heart patient whocan'tfind blood pressure medication, an amputee waiting months for a prosthetic, a teenager too afraid toleave the house. Ukraine's health system needsoursustained support.?
Attacks on health care
In a year marked by hope forpeace talks, the reality on the ground tolda different story. Attacks on healthcare intensified, reaching a peak in the third quarter of 2025, when 184 attacks claimed the lives of 12 people and injured 110 health workers and patients.
At the same time,attacks on medical warehouses tripled in 2025 compared with the previous year,disruptinglogisticsand supplychains that are criticalto delivering care across the country.Over the past four years, 233 health workers and patients have been killed and 930 injured in attacks on healthcare.Such attacks constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
Impact of destruction on essential health services
This winter has been the harshest since thewarbegan, withmultiplestrikes on energy infrastructure leaving millions without heating, electricity, and water.ManyofUkraine'scombinedheat andpowerplantshave been damaged or destroyed. In Kyiv alone, a January 2026 attack leftnearly 6000buildings without heat in subzero conditions, prompting an estimated 600000 residents to flee the capital.
"What we are witnessing in Ukraine is a devastating cycle. A heating station isstruckandthousands of homes lose heat within hours. At ?20C, water in the pipes freezes, bursts them, floods buildings with ice.Repairs are made, then the next attack starts it all over again.Behind every one of thesesystem breakdownsare families, elderly residents, and healthcare workers who must keep saving lives while their own homes are without heat, water, or electricity. The burnout after four years of war is immense ? and the demand for healthcare has never been higher," said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO RepresentativetoUkraine.
Theimpact does not end at the hospital door. New mothers discharged after giving birth, patients recovering from injuries or heart attacks, and those awaiting or recovering from critical cancer surgeries return home to apartments without heating, electricity, or running water. Care that begins in a functioning hospital is undermined when patients recover in freezing, dark homes,turning medical progress into a daily struggle for survival.
Growing health needs
The rise in war-related trauma injuries has driven a growing demand for surgery, blood products, infection prevention and control, prevention of antimicrobial resistance,mental healthservices,and rehabilitation.
Access to rehabilitationremainsseverely limited. Only 4% of hospitals providing inpatient rehabilitation and only 3% of facilities offering assistive technologies such as prosthetics and corrective devices.
Access to medicinesisamong the most persistent barriers to health in Ukraine, with 4 out of 5peoplereportingdifficulties, primarily due tohigh prices(71%). In frontline regions, closed pharmacies, security risks, and financial constraints make the situation even more acute.
WHO's work in Ukraine
In 2025, WHO worked to reach communities throughmultiple mechanisms, by prioritizing the most vulnerable people inhard-to-reachareas.Thework spanned the full continuum of health:
Crisis response:delivered trauma care and medical supplies to 954 facilities, supported over 1200 medical evacuations, and run outreach in 131 hard-to-reach locations;
Recovery:sustained primary health care,noncommunicable diseasetreatment and mental health services for displaced and conflict-affected populations; and
Rehabilitation:rebuilt damaged facilities, installing modular clinics, and training over 2500 health workers to restore and strengthen a battered health system.
To help maintain essential health services,WHOhas provided 284 generators to health facilities across 23 oblasts in Ukraine.For 2026, WHO is appealing to raise US million in funding to sustain its work in Ukraine and to protect access to care for 700000 people.
Source:WHO Europe Region
