On the 24th of February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The invasion was an escalation of conflicts between the two states concerning the future and direction of Ukraine’s sovereignty, national strategy and society. Namely, Russia was concerned with Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO and its direction of developing stronger ties with the EU and the West. Ukraine became the target of Russian aggression for the first time since it gained independence in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea, following president Yanukovych’s rejection of an association agreement with EU in favor of closer ties with Moscow. Conflict has continued since then with approximately 14,000 people losing their lives in the fighting, concentrated around the Donbas area between 2014 and 2022.
The more widespread and pervasive violence seen since the 2022 war began has caused severe disruptions in the lives of Ukrainian people and the country’s development over the past four years. Fluctuation in both verified and unverified figures for morbidity and mortality have persisted throughout the war in relation to both civilian and military casualties, with Statistica figures sitting at an estimated 14,000 deaths for Ukrainian civilians, with 40,600 injured. Figures for military losses are more opaque, with recent studies from CSIS claiming as many as 1.2 million Russian miliary casualties and between 500,000 to 600,000 Ukrainian casualties, included those killed, missing and injured.
Displacement and Migration
In just three weeks after the conflict started, almost 6.5 million people were internally displaced, according to UN estimates, as well as 3.2 million fled the country by that moment.
By the end of the first year of the war estimated number of Ukrainians displaced across Europe was 8.1 million people and internally displaced persons (IDPs) count was 5.4 million people, many of whom are women and children.
The latest estimate of the number of refugees from Ukraine recorded globally is 5.9 million people and IDPs are 3.7 million people. Among temporary protection beneficiaries in the EU, adult women and minors represent 74.3%, as of November 2025.
Also, UNHCR reports that people with disabilities and the elderly are among the last ones to leave frontline areas due to lack of access to the necessary services.
Infrastructure and Essential Services
As a result of the hostilities occurring, critical infrastructure that provides for basic human needs is severely damaged. Since 2022 Russia has been repeatedly launching massive attacks using long-range missiles and drones, and the attacks often result in infrastructural damage. By December 2025 two-thirds of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity was destroyed, as well as 60% of national gas generation capacity. Without electricity it is difficult to sustain stable water supply and heating. More relevant data on the state of critical infrastructure is yet to be estimated, as attacks on it are ongoing during the period when it is the most appealing target—when people need it most. This winter is one of the toughest in recent years with the temperature reaching -20˚ C. In such conditions people have to live without electricity for up to 36 hours at a time with citizens reporting temperatures approaching freezing in houses that have suffered structural damage and remain without utilities.
The schools in Ukraine can’t sustain appropriate conditions for children because of the electricity problem and the fact that more than 4,300 institutions were damaged. Hence, they have often been forced to switch to online classes. But with constant attacks on infrastructure it’s troublesome for students to stay online and receive appropriate education.
Similar problems apply to health—more than 2,700 attacks on health care since February 2022. Electricity is a big problem, as uninterrupted power supply is needed at almost every part of medical facilities’ performance. Power outages are handled by using diesel generators, but, of course, it brings about other challenges.
Morbidity and Mortality
From the very beginning of the conflict health became a concerning topic, with a maternity hospital in Mariupol attacked two weeks after the war had begun, leaving young children and women in labor under the rubble. This event was followed by a report of a pregnant woman and her child losing their lives as a result of the attack. On 7 April WHO verified the 100th attack on health care in Ukraine.
Today, 2025 is claimed to be the deadliest year for civilians since 2022 with 2,514 lost lives and 12,142 injuries and the vast majority of the verified casualties on the Ukraine-controlled territory. Sixty-three percent of all casualties occurred in frontline areas—reportedly, due to increased activity of short-range drones—and 35% were caused by long-range weapons attacking more distant areas of Ukraine. Overall, since the full-scale invasion started, the number of officially verified civilian casualties was 54,000 people—14,000 perished and over 40,000 injured.
Also, there were repeated reports of so-called double-tap attacks—initial strike is followed by a second one, endangering emergency services workers, who arrive asap to deal with the consequences of strikes.
Ukraine’s demography is also under tremendous stress. According to an estimate as of July 2024, fertility rate fell down to 0.9, life expectancy to 64 years and male life expectancy to 57 years. At the same time, the number of registered deaths was 2.8 times higher than births. It is devastating for the nation.
Mental Health and Psychological Impact
According to a survey as of April 2025, tremendous portion of 72% of adults in Ukraine reported having experienced mental health challenges within previous 12 months. Internally displaced persons experienced issues more often: 80% of IDPs were affected. Among the issues were anxiety, trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, and feeling stressed. Yet, only 20% of the affected sought help from professionals. Almost one-third of adolescents, according to UNICEF’s information as of February 2025, reported feeling so sad or hopeless that they stopped doing their usual activities.
Among refugees outside Ukraine, 23% reported mental health and psychological problems that affect their daily functioning and 36% of households reported at least one member affected, according to a report by UNHCR, January 2025, which was a rise from the year before. Less than half of the individuals whose daily functioning was affected sought support. It may indicate different problems, such as mental health awareness and different kinds of availability concerns that create additional friction in seeking help.
Combat Losses
Official information about the losses at the front line is very scarce, but among the known pieces there are two quotes by president Zelenskyy: 55,000 soldiers having lost their lives and ‘great many MIA’, made on 4 February, 2026; and 380,000 soldiers injured, said he on 16 February, 2025.
Since the start of war, Ukraine brought back home more than 7,000 prisoners of war, including servicewomen and civilians, with 2,500 remaining in captivity as of Sep 2025 and 2025 being a record year with 2,310 prisoners of war returned. On 5 February 2026, another exchange happened, during which 157 people were released—150 servicepersons and 7 civilians. Since February 2022, there have been repeated reports of ill-treatment, dire detention conditions, and other violations of human rights of Ukrainian POWs, as well as reports of their executions.
However the numbers look, conventional statistics falls short of ability to convey the real, devastating impact on lives of everyone in Ukraine, and every Ukrainian. Everyone now has a unique grave story to share—someone’s father, or son, or mother, or daughter, childhood friend, brother, sister, neighbor, classmate, or friend—everyone has experienced a loss. Those who come back from the front line alive are different people than those who left for the war. It is impossible so far to comprehend how many lives and families were destroyed.
Economic Impact
With everything described above it is obvious that the economy of Ukraine has suffered a shocking blow. By September 2025 direct damage to infrastructure had reached $176 billion. Damage to infrastructure is essential here because it is the thing that increases prices without increasing wages. This alone makes people poorer. Poverty rate in Ukraine for 2025 was estimated to be 36.9%. People under the threshold must choose between food, health, and basic living conditions (heating/water/electricity/warm clothing). For better understanding, the threshold in that estimate is UAH 8 312 of income a month per adult equivalent in a household, which is ~USD 164 at the moment of writing.
Final Thoughts
The facts written here are not just statistics and pathos, they represent the situation in the country. It may be difficult to empathize with people when you see numbers that are so far from your reality, but right now it is the reality of millions. And these numbers and statements do not reflect the state of affairs completely—this is simplified, distilled information that lets you have a glimpse into what is really happening. The reality is way more complicated and different from person to person, whereas this is a homogenized representation. Think of a painting—it consists of many different colors, but, if you just mix them into one, you will see something entirely different.
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Disclaimer: “Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.”