GENEVA

Civilian casualties in Ukraine rose by 70% this March compared to the same period last year, the UN refugee agency said Friday, warning that intensifying Russian attacks and a deepening funding shortfall are threatening critical humanitarian operations.

"This is really striking and says a lot about how the war has developed," Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR's representative in Ukraine, said during a UN press briefing in Geneva. She described an "alarming" spike in deadly Russian attacks since the beginning of 2025.

More than 200,000 people have been displaced or evacuated from frontline areas since August 2024, with many in urgent need of shelter, psychological support, and financial assistance, she said.

Since the war began in 2022, the representative said UNHCR has supported 450,000 people with emergency shelter materials, 280,000 with psychological support, and tens of thousands with legal and cash assistance.

Despite these efforts, only 25% of the agency's Ukraine appeal has been funded so far this year. Billing urged donors to act quickly, stressing that essential services, including psychosocial support, home repairs, and cash aid for those newly displaced or impacted by strikes, have already been scaled back or temporarily halted.

"Last year, US funding accounted for around 40% of UNHCR’s operations in Ukraine," she noted. "We hope support continues at the level needed so we can carry out our plans for 2025."