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Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR

With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.

Since January, more than 3,500 newly displaced people have transited through a centre in Pavlohrad towards central Ukraine and last month, more than 4,200 evacuees arrived at another centre in the northeastern city of Sumy, where UNHCR and partners provide humanitarian support. In total more than 200,000 people have been evacuated or displaced from frontline areas between August last year and the start of 2025. These numbers are only a fraction of all those made homeless by the violence and mandatory evacuation orders issued by Kyiv in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

The majority of those being moved are the elderly with low mobility or disabilities, families with few resources and children. In many cases, they stayed until the end because they didn't want to leave everything they had behind, UNHCR said.

It has now been more than 38 months since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On Thursday, UN aid agencies led condemnation of Russian missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv that killed 12 people and injured 84, one of a wave of attacks across the country that point to an intensification of the conflict since the start of the year - and growing humanitarian needs for refugees.
“Those deadly Russian attacks have intensified alarmingly since January,” said Ms. Billing, speaking to journalists in Geneva via videolink from Kyiv. “More than 1,000 people have been directly affected as their homes have been damaged or completely destroyed. Civilian infrastructure were also hit in several other regions yesterday, including in Kharkiv, where I myself woke up around 2am in the morning to the loud sound of explosions."

According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, civilian casualties in Ukraine were 70 per cent higher in March this year compared to 12 months earlier. In recent weeks, large-scale attacks on cities including Sumy, Kryvyi Rih, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Marhanets and more have killed and injured civilians and caused damage to residential areas and people’s homes, medical facilities, schools and other infrastructure.

The war has left four million people internally displaced since 24 February 2022 when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. Many of those uprooted have yet to find affordable housing and a new job - which is why support from humanitarian organizations is so crucial, the UNHCR official insisted.

“One of the main things we deliver as part of the emergency response are emergency shelter materials that help people cover broken windows, roofs and doors,” Ms. Billing said.

Since 2022, UNHCR has supported around 450,000 people making repairs on their homes. The UN agency also provides psychological first aid and legal support to those who have lost their identity documents and emergency cash assistance to help people cover most basic needs.

But more support is needed to sustain a timely and predictable response to the many calls for assistance the agency receives from the affected people and the authorities. “UNHCR and our partners, we have the capacity and reach to efficiently deliver, provided we receive the necessary funding,” insisted Ms. Billing.

ast year, US funding for UNHCR accounted for around 40 per cent of its overall contributions. In 2025, UNHCR requires a total of $803.5 million to address the emergency situation in Ukraine. Today, the appeal is 25 per cent funded. During the winter period, the agency had to put some of its programmes partially on-hold, covering psychosocial support, emergency shelter material and cash assistance.

Ends

Story: “Ukraine attacks - UNHCR” – Friday 25 April 2025

Speaker:

Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine

TRT: 02’48”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 25 April 2025 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing

SHOTLIST

Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
Wide shot of the podium with speakers at the press conference room.
SOUNDBITE (English) Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine: “On 24 of April, Kyiv’s residents woke up to another deadly Russian attack and these have really intensified alarmingly since the start of this year. Just in Kyiv 12 people were killed as a result of these attacks across the city, 84 were injured and more than 1,000 people have been directly affected as their homes have been damaged or completely destroyed. But civilians and infrastructure were also hit in several other regions yesterday, including in Kharkiv, where I myself woke up around 02:00am in the morning to the loud sound of explosions.”
Cutaway - Medium shot of the press conference room.
SOUNDBITE (English) Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine: “The UN's human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine reports that civilian casualties in Ukraine were in March this year 70 per cent higher compared to March last year.”
Wide shot of the press conference room.
SOUNDBITE (English) Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine: “One of the main things we deliver as part of this emergency response are emergency shelter materials that help people cover broken windows, roofs and doors. And since 2022, we have supported around 450,000 people with such materials. We're also, as part of this emergency response, providing psychological first aid.”
Cutaway lateral shot of the press conference room and journalists.
SOUNDBITE (English) Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine: “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war. The escalation of hostilities along frontline areas has forced more civilians to flee and prompted the Ukrainian authorities to issue new mandatory evacuation orders.”
Medium shot of journalists at the press conference room.
SOUNDBITE (English) Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine: “More than 200,000 people have been evacuated or displaced from frontline areas between August last year and the start of 2025.”
Close shot of journalists listening.
SOUNDBITE (English) Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine: “What we see is that more is really needed to sustain a timely and a predictable response to the calls from the affected people and the authorities. UNHCR and our partners, we have the capacity and the reach to efficiently deliver, provided we receive the necessary funding.”
Various shots of the press conference room.

MORE INFO:
Download video material - B-Roll: https://media.unhcr.org/Share/vkpxnn4480671cn71ceccra5bc4jwm76

Briefing Notes: https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-responds-latest-wave-deadly-attacks-ukraine?auHash=0v20qkeGqY777svSWBvb3KHnlmsR71TzPNG6bNG5CCI